The Sovereign Six Extras & Outtakes
by Holly1980
Summary: Extra oneshots & outtake chapters from 'The Sovereign Six'. Chapters would make more sense if you've read 'The Sovereign Six'.
1. Bed of Roses EPOV

_**Author Notes:**_

_**Finally!!! I've been trying for two days to get this posted for everyone!!! So here is the extra POV you all voted for! I wanted to post this before Chapter 10 went up so you'd have a little insight into someone else's head. Katy you are a miracle worker for getting this back to me the same day I sent it to you. I can only imagine you were happy to be out of Bella's head and in to Edward's. And thanks for choosing the song for me. I was so torn but you choose the one I had originally intended.**_

_**So this is from Edward's POV. It takes place the Friday Emmett goes to New Orleans all the way through the Skype call. **_

_**Enjoy bb's! I'll see you at the bottom!**_

_**Twlight- not mine. Bon Qui Qui- not mine.**_

______________________________________________________________________________________

Bed of Roses

by: Bon Jovi

Edward's POV

Friday. Thank God it was finally Friday.

I had worked my ass off all week and now that the weekend was here I had plans to do absolutely nothing. If I could just convince myself to finish up the web design for a new up and coming fashion designer that Alice had referred my way, then I could leave my office and head for home.

I was fortunate to be able to work for myself. The few employees I had were faithfully devoted to me. I'm sure most of that had to do with the fact that I let them fuck off whenever they wanted to. As long as the work had gotten done and the clients were happy, I didn't care if they 'tweeted' all day and night. I assumed that's what they did. I had never been one for the social networking of the Internet. Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, it was all a bunch of bullshit if you ask me. Alice had asked me at every opportunity to 'follow her' on Twitter. What the hell? Follow her? I'm her damn brother! Why would I want to follow her around on the Internet? Not that I had ever found anything wrong with the social networking of the Internet, I tip my hat to 'Tom' and whoever else was smart enough to come up with such ideas. I made my living off of the Internet, but I never was one to showcase my personal life all over it.

I was also fortunate that my on again/off again girlfriend Tanya was out of town for the weekend. Peace and quiet. Yes, it was going to be a great weekend.

As I put the finishing touches on the layout for the website the office phone rang. Please don't let it be Tanya. Please don't let it be Tanya.

Hesitantly I answered. "Edward Cullen."

"Hey asshole! What'cha doing?" asked an all too familiar voice on the other end.

Emmett.

"You know, you could find a nicer greeting for your only brother," I said. Emmett would never change. I don't know why I even tried.

"Yeah but where is the fun in that?"

"True. So, what do I owe the pleasure, Em?" I asked and leaned back in my chair, propping my feet up on my desk.

"What? I can't call my brother just to see how he is? Why'd you answer the phone like a scared little bitch anyways?"

I sighed. There was no point hiding anything from Emmett. "I was just hoping you weren't Tanya."

"Dude seriously? If you don't want to be with her don't be with her. Grow a pair and get out."

"You're one to talk about growing a pair. Guess who is on the latest cover of Maxim?" I knew if anything would get to him it was the mention of Rosalie.

"Like you even have to ask me that. My copy came in the mail yesterday. She looks smokin' doesn't she?"

Even though Emmett was on the other end of the phone I knew he had a huge grin on his face.

"I guess if you like blonde supermodels." I preferred brunettes but who was I kidding, Tanya was a blonde, bottled blond.

"Damn right I do! And I don't want to hear shit about growing a pair. For your information, I'm about to spend the weekend with an incredibly hot lady."

I acted surprised but I really wasn't. "Really? And which one gets the pleasure of your company this weekend? Let me guess. Tiffany from the cheerleading squad or is it Cindy from the gym?"

"Nope, neither of them. I got four words for you brother." Emmett hesitated before he spoke again. "It's Mardi Gras Bitch!"

Mardi Gras? Why in the world would Emmett... I damn near fell out of my chair when I put two and two together. Emmett was going to New Orleans to visit the one person I hadn't brought myself to visit in eleven years, the one person who meant more to me in the entire world. The one person I was saving myself for.

"Are you fucking kidding me? You're going to see Bella?"

"Damn skippy! Just landed in NOLA." Emmett said and I knew he was beaming.

"Does she know you're coming?" I asked still in utter shock.

"Nope! I'm surprising her. Think she'll be okay with it?"

I really wasn't sure. I mean, I would have guessed she would have been excited to see any of us.

"It's you Emmett, I'm sure she'll be ecstatic. Can I ask you something though? Why Bella?"

"Dude it's Mardi Gras. Think about it. Boobs, beads, beer and more boobs."

I shook my head and laughed. "I see your point. But for the record it better not be Bella's boobs you're wanting to see."

"Would I do that to you? This is your only brother you're talking to! I'm offended Edward."

"Sorry. I'm just shocked you're there to see her when I haven't."

"Not my fault dude. Not my fault. I'll be honest with you. I've done a lot of soul searching recently."

"Oh yeah? Getting bored now that football is over with? What, have you been sitting at home watching, The View and Dr. Phil?"

"Leave the doc out of this bro!" he replied on the defensive.

"Testy, testy Emmett. I was only kidding. Seriously, what's got you acting like this?"

I could hear Emmett sigh into the phone before he spoke. "I'm ready to move back home, Edward."

"Home, like Forks home?" I was beyond shocked to hear Emmett confess that he was ready to move home. I mean the idea crossed my mind a time or two but I never followed through with it. And honestly, I didn't want to go home without Bella in tow.

"No dipshit, Spoons home. Yes, Forks." Emmett sarcastically answered.

"So how does going to see Bella, in New Orleans, get you any closer to Forks? You're kind of headed in the wrong direction there."

"Shut the hell up and listen." Emmett fired back.

"Alright. You have my undivided attention."

"Okay, so I've been thinking a lot lately about the past. I miss everyone man. I mean, I get to see you and Alice cause we're family but I haven't hung out with Bella or Jasper in forever. So, I knew it was Mardi Gras and decided to pay Bella a visit. After New Orleans I think I'm going to head to Dallas to see those J.R. Ewing houses Jasper builds and then maybe I'll head on over and check out the west coast."

"Emmett, Rosalie's on the west coast." I teased.

"Duh dumbass. I have no other reason to check out the west coast."

"So you're going to pay every one of our long lost friends a visit and then head home?" I inquired.

"That's the general idea. And who knows, maybe I can convince a few to come with me in the process."

"Do Mom and Dad know you're headed back yet?" Not that my parents would have been upset. My mom would most likely put an announcement in the local paper.

"No. I figured I'd surprise them too. I'm not calling anyone to tell them I'm coming. Pretty awesome huh?"

Awesome? Not hardly. Emmett was about to enter a death trap.

"I guess." I half assed replied.

"Listen don't be all jealous because you're too much of a pussy to get on a plane and reclaim your long lost love. I'm actually going to do something about mine." Emmett all but yelled into the phone.

If there was one thing Emmett was passionate about it was his family. I don't just mean blood family; he considered every one of 'The Sovereign Six' family.

Emmett was right. I was being a pussy. I was too scared to take a leap of faith and reclaim Bella. But what if she had already been claimed by someone else? What if I was too late? That was the very reason why I hadn't made the trip to see her. I was such a pussy.

"When you're right your right, Emmett." I sighed into the receiver.

"I know. Okay well I gotta jet, I'm at her work now. Anything you want me to say?"

There was a ton I wanted to say to Bella but I didn't want Emmett to say any of them for me.

"No, that's alright. Have fun and be safe."

"Will do. I'll send you pictures or texts later just to piss you off." Emmett joked, but I knew he was serious.

"I'm sure you will. Bye Em."

"Later."

I hung up the phone and threw my hands over my face. I was such a tool bag! My brother had more guts than I did. He was going to try to reclaim all that he had lost in the past eleven years. Why couldn't I just man up and do the same? I shut my computer down and headed out of the office. I thought this was going to be a great weekend but now having heard that Emmett was in the same city as my Bella made my head hurt. And to top things off, Emmett was headed home. After all these years, he was going back home. I looked at my watch to check the time. I wondered if Dr. Phil was still on. I could use all the help I could get.

***

The night drug on and I found myself on more than one occasion thinking about what Emmett and Bella were doing. Were they having fun? Was she upset to see him? Of course she wasn't upset. I would almost bet she was on cloud nine to see an old friend. I contemplated calling Emmett just to see how things were going. How big of pussy move is that? I was such a woman sometimes.

I fell asleep on the couch around eleven that night. No word from Tanya, no word from Emmett. As I thought about it, my cell phone hadn't even rung. I looked around the living room for my phone and couldn't find it anywhere. I considered calling it but what purpose would that have served seeing as how I had it on vibrate. So I took a nap on the couch. Yeah, a nap at eleven at night.

I stifled a yawn as I rose out of my slumber. The clock on the wall showed it was ten after one. I faintly heard a noise from under the cushion of the couch. What the hell? I thought maybe I was hearing things until it happened again. Dumbass, pick up the cushions and see what the noise is. I lifted up the cushion and saw my cell phone. Well mystery solved. I clicked on the screen and saw four missed calls and two text messages. All the missed calls were from Tanya. The fact that I had misplaced my cell phone and therefore wasn't able to take her calls was a blessing in disguise.

I thought as much until I saw who the texts were from. They were both from Emmett.

The first one was a picture of Bella. My Bella who looked stunning. She was posing for the camera and she was absolutely beautiful. Of course Emmett being Emmett captioned the picture with _See what you've been missing little brother?_ Yeah, I saw plain as day what I had been missing. I typed a reply back into the phone. She's even more beautiful than I remember. She was definitely that. I wouldn't have thought it possible for her to get more beautiful with age but she did.

I opened the second message to see it was another picture from Emmett. This one was of him and Bella. They looked like they were having the time of their lives. She had her leg thrown up around his waist and their faces were side by side. Had this been with anyone other than my brother I might have been a little jealous. Who was I kidding? This was my brother and I was a lot jealous. Like Emmett could have already gauged my reaction he wrote _Jealous little brother?_ I typed back the most truthful thing I could think of. _For once I wish I was you._

I made my way back to my room and settled myself onto the bed. I stared at the pictures of Bella until I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer.

One day Bella. One day very soon.

***

I slept the latest I think I had ever slept on a Saturday morning. It was noon by the time I crawled my lazy ass out of bed. I rolled over to pick my cell phone up and opened the texts from the night before. Bella. This is who I wanted to wake up next to every morning.

Then why was I such a jackass? Why had I never gone to her? But as easily as I thought about those things, I also thought about the fact that she had never come for me either. Was that what I was waiting for? For her to be the one to reclaim me?

Before I could get any more lost in my thoughts, my cell phone began to vibrate. An incoming call interrupted my picture of Bella and flashed 'TANYA' across the screen. I groaned at having to speak to her. It wasn't that I disliked Tanya, I wouldn't have continued to date her if I did but she wasn't what I wanted long term.

Tanya was a social butterfly. She had to be seen everywhere. She had to go and do it all. I was perfectly content sitting at home or playing the piano, something I rarely had the opportunity to do anymore. I was thankful for her weekend trip with her sisters. It allowed me to have a few days of peace and quiet. That was until Emmett had to rub it in my face that he was going to spend the weekend with Bella which now occupied every amount of space in my brain.

Emmett had the unfortunate pleasure of meeting Tanya a month or so ago. I hadn't mentioned her to my family, nor had I mentioned my family to her for good reason. I never thought it was necessary to introduce anyone I dated to my family or vice versa. Why do that when I knew I would have never settled down with them. Why give them the opportunity to fall in love with my family or have my family fall in love with them when I new that I could only ever love one person. Why was I such a douche bag?

Why, why, why? I seemed to have been on an Edward pity party cruise today.

I pressed the send button and tried to hide my disappointment in my greeting. "Hello?"

"Hey, Doodle-Bug! I tried calling you last night. Where were you?" Tanya cheerfully said into the phone.

I flinched at her pet name for me. "Yeah, I saw that this morning. I was at home sleeping. My phone was on vibrate." Short, sweet and to the point. I was a no-nonsense man today.

"Oh yeah? You must have had a long day at the office. Are you ready for Tanya-Wanya to come home and rub some of your tension out for you?" She said in the voice that she used to talk to her teacup yorkie, Mr. Puddles. I vomited a little in my mouth at the sound of it.

"Um... no you have fun with your sisters, I'll be fine here. Actually, my brother called me last night from New Orleans so I'll probably call him in a little bit to see how he's doing," I lied. I had no intentions of calling Emmett.

"What's in New Orleans?" she asked.

I told her the most honest thing I think I had ever said to her. "Everything, Tanya."

I knew she wouldn't have caught on to my meaning so instead she made a snide remark. "That's highly doubtful Doodle, New York has everything."

New York didn't have Bella.

"Uh huh. Well, listen I need to run, literally. I slept in this morning so I haven't had my morning jog yet. I'll see you when you get back."

"Okay. Miss me."

I hung up before I could answer her.

I didn't like being a dick to Tanya. All in all she was a pretty great girl. She was fun and she didn't seem to mind the fact that I never let her sleep at my apartment. She actually seemed okay with it. Then again we hadn't been dating for that long, six months at the most. We had fun whenever we went out and to be honest she introduced me to several of my high end business clients. She did however, after meeting Emmett, badger me with a million questions about my family. I left out that fact that my sister was the world famous designer Alice Cullen and that I was actually good friends with Rosalie Hale. I felt like Tanya was more on a need to know basis and those were things she didn't need to know. I guess that made me a dick.

***

After I had completed my daily run through Central Park, I headed to the coffee shop across the street and a few doors down from my building. The afternoon was too nice to sit cooped up in my apartment all day. I sat at the bistro table and answered emails while the people of New York passed me by. My thoughts constantly drifted to Emmett and Bella. It was Saturday night and I had wondered what their plans were. I could have been a man and called Emmett myself to find out when I didn't, instead I sat on the patio of the coffee shop and people watched.

***

Later that evening I sat alone with only my thoughts to occupy my time. I reveled in the silence and played the piano. The piano helped take my mind off of things I had no control over. That was bullshit. I had control over my life and my destinies but I had no control over Emmett being with Bella.

I stayed up watching Saturday Night Live and reruns of The Golden Girls. I was about to call it a night at around two thirty when my cell phone began vibrating. I knew it was too late for Tanya to call, so that had to mean it was Emmett. Sure enough, the screen showed that I had a video message from my brother.

A video message? Seriously, a video message? Emmett was really trying to kill me.

I opened the message and instantly smiled. Bella was dancing and singing along to REO Speedwagon it sounded like. She looked amazing. I had honestly never seen her look more beautiful or more drunk for that matter. She swayed her body to the music and knew the song that played, word for word. She quickly noticed Emmett and grabbed his hand, asking him what he was doing. He replied that he was videoing her singing. She wanted to know why. She was so cute drunk. He told her he was going to send it to me. In a million years I could have never guessed what she was about to do. It literally took my breath away as I watched her sing the chorus to 'Keep on Loving You' into the phone. She was singing that to me and only me. I laughed out loud when she asked where the lens was; apparently Emmett found it amusing also.

"You want to say something to my little brother?" Emmett asked.

"I think I just said everything I needed to." She was staggering to keep herself balanced and slurring her words. She was an adorable drunk.

"Alright I'm going to send this to him. You okay with that?" Emmett asked her.

There was no way she was going to remember any of this in the morning. I knew at that moment that there was no way I was going to let her forget.

"Why wouldn't I be? It's the truth and he knows it. I'll remember every bit of this tomorrow." She continued on.

There would only be one way to find out if she did.

Before I knew it, Emmett had turned the phone around on himself and told me I had confirmation of her true feelings.

"A drunk always tells the truth," he said.

I knew that he had done this because of our previous conversation. Without having to tell him, he knew the main reason why I hadn't gone back for her. I was chicken shit. I was afraid she had moved on. One would think if she had then he would have been present with her at whatever function they were at. God knows I wouldn't have let my girlfriend get drunk and profess her feelings for a high school boyfriend if I was around.

Bella reappeared on the screen. It was a good thing I was sitting down because her next statement would have surely made my balance falter. "I hope you're doing well. I know I was earlier. Let's just say I was thinking of you in the shower."

HOLY SHIT!

She thought about me in that way! She actually thought about me in...that…way! I couldn't begin to count the number of times I pictured her while I was in the shower, in the bed, in... hell… everywhere! But to know that I was the source of her thoughts, the thoughts that lead her to a release I had once brought her to. Well, words just can't describe the elation I felt.

I refocused my attention back to my phone when I realized that Emmett was giving her a questionable look. She explained that she merrily just had to finish what had gotten started earlier when he had awoken her from an incredible dream, an incredible dream that stared starred me. Emmett laughed so hard his hand slipped. I'm sure he was placing his hands on his sides because he seemed to be doubled over from laughter. Bella began frantically yelling in the background.

"Don't drop Edward, Emmett. It may hurt him," she said. I also found myself laughing along with him. Emmett ended the video but not before they both told me goodbye.

I closed my phone up as I smiled. I was the source of Bella's dreams and fantasies. I was the one, eleven years later that still brought her to her

release. I was a stupid mother fucker.

***

I hardly slept after the phone message from Emmett. At around four am I finally dozed off, but I knew I had to wake up early so that I could talk to him. I figured Bella might have one hell of a hangover from the previous night and I wanted to catch him before she had woken up.

At ten my time, I called his cell phone. Luckily for me, he picked up.

Without so much as a 'hello' or a 'fuck off' he answered the phone. "I take it you got my little video last night."

I smiled knowing that he had done that to piss me off. "Good morning to you too. Yeah, I got it. How is she this morning?"

"Don't know yet. She's still asleep. I'm going to let her sleep it off for a bit longer. I woke her up yesterday morning because I couldn't figure out her techno savvy coffee pot."

I laughed out loud. "Yeah, I think she made it pretty clear that you woke her up."

"No shit man. That was TMI dude."

I could hear Emmett mumbling into the phone and it sounded like he was having a hard time with something.

"Em, what are you doing?" I asked.

"Still trying to figure out this coffee pot. I mean, why can't there just be a button that says on? Why does this shit have to be so damn difficult?"

After having Emmett explain to me what the buttons on the coffee pot said, I was able to walk him through the mechanisms of the contraption. He heaved a sigh of relief as he poured himself a cup and took a sip, apparently pleased that he hadn't burned it.

"Dude, I wish Bella could see your face when I replay the video for her," Emmett said.

I rolled my eyes but then a light bulb went off. "Emmett, did you bring your computer with you?"

I heard him gulp down his coffee before he answered. "Nope, why?"

"Did Bella by chance leave her computer out?" I asked hopefully.

"Um...yeah, it's on the coffee table. Again, I ask why?"

"I just came up with a brilliant idea. Em, do you have a Skype account?"

The light bulb must have begun to shine brightly for Emmett as well because he excitedly answered me. "Fuckin' a man! You're a genius!"

"Yeah I know. Okay I'm going to turn my computer on. Skype me when you get it up and running."

Emmett laughed. "Alright, see you in a few. Literally, I'll see you in a few."

I hung up the phone and grabbed my laptop off the kitchen counter. This was brilliant! I would be able to see Bella and she would be able to see me. We'd be able to see each other! Why the hell had I not thought of this sooner? Emmett was wrong, I wasn't a genius, I was an idiot.

With my computer on and my Skype pulled up, I waited for Emmett to call. What was taking him so long? My patience was thin today. Just as I was about to call his cell phone again my computer dinged with his incoming call.

"Dude, what the hell? What took you so long?" I huffed as he stared back at me.

"Edward, it's been like two minutes. Calm down."

I took a deep breath to regain my composure. He was right. I needed to calm down. "What's with the headphones?"

Emmett smiled and tugged on one of the ear pieces. "When she wakes up she'll have no idea what I'm doing. I'm planning a big reveal for you bro."

I laughed. "Thanks. So have you two been having fun?"

"Hell yeah! Friday night we went to the House of Blues to watch Better than Ezra and last night we went to this kick ass ball at the Super Dome. Edward, Mardi Gras is awesome! It's like everyone just let's their inhibitions go. And Bella's friends have been really great, even though none of them had any clue who I was."

That was impossible. Even if you didn't follow football, everyone knew who Emmett was. "What do you mean, that had no clue who you were?"

"They didn't know Bella was friends with me. Some of them knew she was friends with an Emmett, they just didn't know it was Emmett Cullen. They don't know about Rose or Alice, man. Can you imagine how pissed Alice is going to be if she ever finds out Bella hasn't bragged about her? I so don't want to be on the receiving end of that wrath."

I laughed at Emmett's joke about our baby sister. He was right though. Alice prided herself on her accomplishments and her fame. She would be hurt if she knew Bella had never bragged about her to anyone. Just as soon as I laughed about Alice my thoughts went back to my pity party.

"Hey Emmett, why haven't I gone to her? Why hasn't she come for me? Why didn't I just say, fuck Dartmouth and head down to Baton Rouge with her? I've been so stupid!"

Emmett gave me a look that only a brother couldn't get pissed at. One that said, yeah you are stupid. Emmett, not being one to hide his emotions, said exactly what his face conveyed. "Yeah, you have been. But dude I can't answer those questions for you. That's something you and Bella are going to have to discuss. I can tell you this though; she's asked me the same exact questions. They way I see it; you two have a lot to discuss. Eleven years to be exact."

He was right. We did have a lot to discuss. I wanted to ask him more. Did she have a boyfriend? Did she mention me any? But I couldn't bring myself to do it. I had decided no matter what our Skyping brought on, there was only one thing I had to do. I had to go to her. Before I could say anything Emmett quickly started talking.

"Dude, she's up. Are you ready?"

"Absolutely." And I was ready. I was ready to see her. I was ready to see her reaction to seeing me and I was ready to see how she reacted to the video. Would she remember? Would she regret anything? God I hoped not.

I watched my computer screen like I was trying to find Waldo. Emmett smiled. I could hear a door open and footsteps. She was so close yet so far away.

"Good Morning, Sunshine." Emmett said.

Her sweet, raspy morning voice filled my ears. "There is nothing good about this morning. What are you doing?" she asked him.

Oh shit! Please let me hear you for a bit longer. Please let me relish in your voice before you see me and remember everything that you said last night. Thank goodness Emmett remained quiet. He looked at me and smiled again. He was going to give everything away if he kept smiling.

Not noticing his lack of an answer, she spoke again. "I see you figured out how to work my coffee pot."

I couldn't keep my words to myself and since Emmett had the headphones on, I knew she couldn't hear me. "No love, it was me who helped him figure out the coffee pot."

Emmett kept smiling. "Yeah, you had a pretty rough night last night, or should I say morning, so I educated myself." We both laughed at our little inside joke. "What are you doing up so early? I figured you would sleep until noon at least!" Emmett continued.

Her sweet voice was back. "I thought I heard someone banging around and it woke me up."

"Damn it Emmett! You should have been quieter." I said with my voice raised. He looked down at the screen and winked.

Bella continued on, not missing a beat. It wasn't like she knew I was behind the computer chastising him for being loud. "Come to find out, it was just my head pounding. Emmett, how did I get into my pajamas?"

I started to laugh but I quickly stopped myself as anger began to build inside of me. "Yes, Emmett, how did she get into her pajamas? I swear to God if you saw any part of her naked I will go all Bon Qui Qui on you. Do you hear me? 'I will cut you'." I said in my best or maybe to some, my worst Bon Qui Qui impersonation.

Emmett laughed again and I knew she was going to question why he kept looking at the computer and laughing. "Don't worry, Bells. You changed yourself." He looked down at the computer with an 'Are you happy now' look on his face. "I tell you what though, when you're drunk you go from happy, to sad, to down right pissed off in a matter of minutes."

"Does she? What was she saying Emmett?" I pleaded with him to tell me.

All was quiet on the other end and I could only assume Bella had not remembered anything from the previous night. "Emmett, what did I do?" she asked.

"Tell her I love her. Tell her I miss her. Damn Emmett, turn this fucking computer around so that I can see her!" I exclaimed. I was getting desperate. I knew he'd give me hell for this but I didn't care.

He laughed again and this time it didn't go unnoticed. "Why are you laughing? I can't, for the life of me, find the humor in any of this," she asked him.

"Before I answer any of your questions, and I will answer them, tell me something. What all do you remember from last night?" Emmett asked her.

It was quiet for a moment so I took the opportunity to talk to him. "She sounds so amazing! Hung over and all she sounds fucking beautiful!"

The silence ended as Bella recounted what she remembered. She told him that the last thing she remembered was singing Pictures with him. His forehead wrinkled and his expression dropped. I internally berated myself because she hadn't remembered the video. It was all just the alcohol talking, nothing more. From what Emmett told her that all happened before one am. He asked her if she could recount anything else. She couldn't. I couldn't stop myself from speaking.

"Emmett, she has no idea. It was just the alcohol talking," I said defeated.

It broke my heart to think that it was just an alcohol induced rant. That had she not been drunk she would have never confessed her feelings for me. But that fact was, she did confess them and again, she was drunk.

Before I continued on my pity party cruise, she spoke. "Just tell me what happened. I'm a big girl, I can handle it."

I agreed with Emmett. It was pretty intense but she had a right to know what she did last night. Everything she had said and she needed to know how I felt about it, about her.

Emmett laughed out loud. He was about to give himself away. I mean, there was only so long she would go on questioning her antics from the previous night before she realized he had her computer in his lap. But before she could ask any more questions he began to explain to her how they got home, how he carried her up the stairs while she laughed and then as she started crying once they were inside. "I won't go into details about what all you were saying, I'll save that for later on." I imagined that was when she began to ask the same questions I had asked him earlier.

He then told her she got so angry he was scared of her. I laughed at that thought. "Emmett, you can't be serious?"

He opened his mouth in an attempt to address me but stopped himself. She once again asked how she had ended up in her pajamas.

"Yes, Emmett, we are all very anxious to learn how she ended up in her pajamas. Please don't keep us waiting," I told him. He looked down at the computer and smiled. He knew that it was killing me inside that he was the one that had taken care of her.

"After you got all violent on me, I left you alone in your room. You banged around in there for about ten minutes before things got quiet. I opened the door and you were passed out laying all crazy like on your bed. So, I moved you so that your head would be on the pillow and covered you up," he explained.

At the same time we both said, "Thank you."

He continued on. "No problem. That's what friends are for. I figured it was the least I could do since I told you I wouldn't hold your hair back if you got sick Friday night. And believe me, I was praying that you wouldn't get sick this morning."

"EMMETT! You should have done whatever was necessary to make sure she was okay. You are a terrible friend! I would have held her hair back for her. I would have sat in the bathroom with her." I chastised him for not offering to take better care of her.

He looked at me with a grin on his face and shook his head. "You are a prick, you know that?" I asked him.

"Emmett, why do you keep looking down at the computer and laughing? What am I not seeing?" Bella asked him, finally having caught on to what Emmett was doing.

I watched as he took the ear buds out of his ears. "What you're not seeing Bella is that we have company."

I regained my composure to face her. All pretenses were out the window as he turned the computer around and I was finally face to face with my Bella. I couldn't help the cheesy grin that covered my entire face. I internally laughed as she almost fell off the bar stool when she took into account that I was staring back at her.

"Good morning beautiful. Rough night?" I asked her. It wasn't a lie. She had bed head and was clearly in a hung over state, but she radiated beauty. Beauty I had denied myself for eleven years. Why? Now was not the time to ask myself questions. Now was the time to bask in her glow.

She stood up and made her way to the couch next to Emmett. He turned the computer around so that I could see the both of them sitting side by side. "Did you hear everything we were just talking about?" she asked me.

"Yes, but since Em had the ear buds in, you didn't hear anything I was saying. Do you want to fill her in Emmett?" I wasn't sure what I wanted him to tell her. I was trying to buy myself some time, build up the nerve to tell her I had been a jackass.

"No man, I'll let you do that another time. Right now why don't you tell Bella about the interesting message you received last night." He looked over at Bella and smirked.

Bella looked between Emmett and myself. "What message? Emmett, Edward, what's going on? I'm really not in the mood to play twenty questions with either of you this morning."

Damn her for being so cute when she was aggravated.

Emmett was smiling. I was smiling. Bella was not.

"Should I play it back for her, bro? Yeah, I think I should." Emmett answered before I had the chance to prepare Bella for what I was sure to be a mistake on her part.

I couldn't form words as I watched her watch Emmett. He handed her the phone and explained that when she was ready she could hit play. Then she would see the message I had received.

She looked up at Emmett and then to me again. "Emmett, did you get the message too or did Edward forward it to you?"

She was so confused and it was undeniably sexy. "Bella, love, just watch it and you'll understand everything."

I smiled to help ease her frustrations and worry, but all along I was trying to ease my own. She was about to witness her drunken banter from the night before and I was preparing myself for the outcome I knew would follow. She wouldn't remember anything and it would have been just the alcohol talking.

She nodded her head and said okay before she hit the play button on Emmett's cell phone. I watched as her face twisted with confusion while she watched herself sing and dance along to the song. Then her face suddenly changed. She had gone from not understanding what was going on to having full comprehension of her actions. She remembered.

I spoke softly to try and ease her tension. She had her hands over her face which I only assumed was to hide the beautiful blush that used to always turn her a lovely shade of red whenever she was embarrassed. "Bella, there's no reason to be embarrassed. I'm actually quite flattered."

She peeked out from behind her hands as she listened and watched Emmett explain that he was going to send this to me. She finally tore her hands away while she watched the rest of the video. Her expression changed and the blush was back when she realized that she confessed to thinking of me in the shower. I couldn't help but smile. Although she may have remembered singing to me, she didn't remember confessing what had transpired in the shower.

She suddenly rose from the couch and before I could call after her, Emmett started in. "Bella, you okay? You're not going to be sick are you? If you are I can put the computer in there with you so it will feel like Edward is there holding your hair back."

He laughed but it was short lived. "Emmett! How dare you? She's obviously embarrassed. You should march you're ass in there and make sure she's okay."

"Dude, she's fine. She flipped me off on her way to the bathroom so I know she's fine."

I wasn't pleased with that response. "Still, you should go after her. I'm not there to do it myself or I would."

The video kept playing the background. I ignored it as Emmett went in after me. "Yeah, but you know what douche bag? You're not here and I am."

He was right. We both knew it. That didn't mean it made it any easier. It made it only harder.

Before Emmett and I could continue our sparing match, she had resumed her seat on the couch. I smiled at her and tried to tell her without so many words that I loved her, that I missed her. That it was okay. Everything she had admitted to was okay. Emmett threw his arm around her and pulled her in nearer to him. My face dropped a little as I watched the connection between them. It should have been me there holding her. I wasn't sure if Emmett had done it on purpose or not. I knew that we all had a close relationship with one another and a part of me wanted to believe that it was easy for them to fall back into the same familiar pattern we all once shared. But this was my brother. He had an ulterior motive for everything. He was trying to get a rise out of me. On some level it was working but I'll be damned, I wasn't going to get all hot headed in front of Bella.

"You okay, Bells?" Emmett asked her.

She smiled at Emmett. "Sure, I'm great. I just needed to take care of morning duties. I was so caught up in other things when I woke up I forgot about peeing."

I was tired of sharing this time with Emmett. I asked him if he wouldn't mind giving Bella and I a moment alone and he obliged. Finally it was just the two of us.

"Hi," she said sheepishly.

"Hi," I replied with a small smile on my face. She did that to me. She always did and she always would. I decided not to beat around the bush.

"Are you okay? I mean, I know you were drunk last night so it's okay if that was just the alcohol talking." I prayed that I was wrong. I prayed that she meant every word of it.

"Edward, I meant every single word I said. I have nothing to be ashamed of. It's the truth and there is no point in denying it."

Oh thank God! I smiled brighter at her. "I'm so happy to hear you say that. I've missed you so much. You looked amazing last night, by the way."

Yeah, I had no filters this morning. It had been too long and I wasn't about to ruin the moment by skirting around my true feelings.

She smiled at me and bit her bottom lip. How had I forgotten her nervous habit? Besides the blush, it was one of the most endearing things about her.

"Thank you. I've missed you too. So, how are you? What's been new?"

I should have been ashamed of myself. I should have called her more, kept in touch with her more. She should have done the same. But instead, this was where we had to start our conversation off at.

"I'm good. Not great, but good. New York is good, again not great, but good." New York would be great if you were with me, I thought. "Work is going really well. You would think in this day and age everyone would have a website, but it's not the case. What about you? How is the museum?"

"It's good, nothing exciting to tell. We've got some new pieces for our Indian collection coming in a few months so that will be big, but other than that..."

She trailed off like she was unsure of what else to say. Conversations were never forced with the two of us. Everything always flowed so naturally. It was like there was an elephant in the room that neither of us wanted to address. It needed to be acknowledged. We were both adults now, not the love sick teenagers we once were. We could make this work, but how? Before I could voice my concerns, she spoke.

"We should bridge this distance between us." She looked sad, almost lost.

I sighed. "I know." I had thought about this a million times, apparently so had she.

"What can we do?" she asked me.

"I don't know. I wish I did, but I don't." It was the truth. I didn't know how to go about getting us back to us. I wanted that more than anything in the world. So why was I being like this?

"Humph. Well, it's been eleven years, what's a little more time right?"

She looked like she was about to cry and that was the last thing I wanted. I wanted to make her smile, to make her laugh. Not cry. But more time was what we both needed. We needed more time to figure out how we were going to fix this. A mess we both had created eleven years ago. Neither of us held more blame than the other. We were both equals in our wrong doings and from the expression on her face, she knew that as well.

Time. Yes, we still needed time. "Yeah, I guess so. Bella we will find a way. I don't know how or when, but we will. Do you have faith in us?" I was pleading with her as much as I was pleading with myself. I needed her to understand that we couldn't fix this overnight. But that we would fix this. That in time we would be Edward and Bella again.

"Yes," she simply stated.

I smiled at her and placed my hand on my computer screen. She mimicked my movements and for a single cyber space moment, we were connected.

She smiled and mouthed three small words I had never been able to bring myself to say to anyone else, only her. She was the only one I had ever loved and would ever love. Those words may have been small on paper but the meaning behind them was huge. My love for her was all consuming.

We sat across from one another, our hands pressed against our computer screens, for a few moments.

"Emmett's done with his shower," she spoke finally.

I didn't want her to leave but I knew that she had to. "I guess you need to go then. Big day planned?"

"There's a party on the parade route that some friends here are throwing. We're gonna hang out down there. No drinking for me though."

I laughed and gave her what I knew was an evil grin. "Oh, I don't know Bella, I kind of like it when you drink. You say everything you're really feeling."

I was totally unprepared for what she said next. Gone was my shy, reserved Bella from high school. In her place was a fierce, bold woman. And I liked it!

"Wel,l here's one for saying what I'm really feeling. Every time you smile at me like that, I need to go change my panties. Gotta go, Edward. I love you!"

Before I could get another word in or one final look at her she had shut the computer down. So she wanted to play like that, huh? I was determined to see her bet and raise the odds. This wasn't the same Bella I remembered from all those years ago. This Bella was much more confident and determined. Eventually, when time granted us the opportunity to meet again, I knew I was going to love this new Bella.

I picked up my cell phone, found her number and sent her a text.

_You're going to pay for that. Enjoy your shower. I love you._

I knew it would get under her skin. The new and old Bella would agree to that.

I walked over to my large walk-in closet in the bedroom and found the box that held so much of her. I rummaged around inside until I found what I was looking for. She had given me these eleven years ago and I knew, eventually, I would show her how much they still meant to me. I was bound and determined to intermingle my sweet, innocent angel from high school with the naughty, sexy minx she had become.

I stared down at the simplicity of the cotton panties that bore my name. Revenge was most definitely going to be sweet.

_**Chapter End notes:**_

_**So? What does everyone think? It's a little glimpse in Edward's head. I have more extra's and outtakes planned but this was my present to y'all. All the reviews have been amazing!!**_

_**Okay so if your lost on the whole Bon Qui Qui reference, watch this video. It's a segment from MadTV.**_

**.com/watch?v=jZkdcYlOn5M**

_**So review below and let me know what you think about our dear Edward. Chapter 10 should post soon. And thank you again for all the reviews and the continued support! I heart you all big time!!**_

_**Holly**_


	2. Some Fools Never Learn JPOV

**_A/N- Here is the beast known as Jacob. This is over 13,000 words! He's a wordy little shit!!! I have several people, or things, I would like to thank for this monster. Katy for understanding why Jacob was such a talker. Like she said, most men are. To Lashawn (dinx219) for talking me down the cliff I had debated jumping from because I just couldn't channel my inner broken hearted dude. Love ya hun!!! And of course to the makers of Malibu Rum and Mocasto D'Asti. Both of which I consumed while writing this._**

**I own nothing but this part of Jacob's heartbreak. The rest is the honor of Stephanie Meyer.**

Some Fools Never Learn

by: Steve Wariner

**Jacob's ****POV**

What a completely fucked up day. Today's turn of events were something I would have never seen coming, nor would I have wished for anything like this to have happened to anyone let alone Bella.

It started out pretty normal. It was raining outside and I knew she never stopped for coffee in the rain so I took the liberty of picking up her favorite on my way to work. Score one for the Jakester because she in fact did not stop. Lucky guess? Of course not. I knew Bella much more than she gave me credit for. Hell, more than I had given myself credit for. This was why I was beginning to fall for her. Fall and fall hard is what I was doing.

Then at lunch she had looked so cute. Her eyelids had become heavy and I knew it was due to the incredible lunch we had just had. I would have given anything to take her back home and cuddle on the couch with her if she would have let me. Bella was kind of standoffish in that aspect of our relationship, not that I was complaining. Okay, that's a lie. I had complained plenty to myself over the last few weeks. I mean, I am a dude after all and I have needs to fulfill and my trusty right hand was getting pretty damn sore. But I could be patient. For Bella, I'd be as patient as she wanted me to be.

And then the phone call happened. The look on her face was one that I couldn't erase from my mind no matter how hard I had tried. She was scared and that made me scared for her. I would have given anything to take away her hurt. I was willing to hurt for her just so that I didn't have to see that look on her face again. When she dropped the phone and fell to her knees I instinctively rushed over to grab the line. The man on the other end identified himself as Carlisle Cullen, Bella's father's doctor. The news he gave to me just about killed me. Her dad was dying. Dr. Cullen advised me to get her on a plane headed for Forks as fast as I possibly could. And so I did.

Now here I stood in the middle of the airport having just seen Bella off to her father's side. Fuck!! I should be on the plane with her. Why didn't I insist on going with her? Oh yeah, because it wasn't my place and Bella didn't ask me to go with her.

She didn't ask me to go.

***

**The following day.**

I hadn't heard from Bella all evening. By the time she would have arrived in Washington it would have been well past midnight and she still had a two hour drive ahead of her. I contemplated calling her cell just to make sure she had arrived but I had told her to call me when she knew something.

So I waited.

When I arrived at work the next morning news had already spread about Bella's dad. Everyone seemed genuinely worried about her even the devil reincarnated, Jane. If there is one chick that was totally creeptastic it was her. I was stopped by damn near everyone for the most part of the day with questions on whether or not I had heard from Bella. _How was she? How was her dad?_ Fuck if I know. It was noon and I still hadn't heard from her. I had picked up the phone several times with the intention of calling her just so I knew she had made it safely but I always ended up hanging the phone up before I dialed the number. When did I become so scared to talk to her? Was I afraid of the news that she would give me?

Before I could pick the phone up for what seemed like the millionth time that day, my line began to ring. _Thank God!_ I picked up a little too hastily. At this rate she would be able to hear my frantic tone.

"Jacob Black. How can I help you?" I asked trying to keep my voice calm and collected.

"Mr. Black, this is Tom Jones from the Seattle Art Museum. How are you today?"

I had to suppress a laugh. I wanted to answer back, 'What's new pussycat' but I thought better of it. Come to think of it, that was the first smile I had cracked in almost twenty-four hours. Thank you Tom Jones for bringing me out of a funk for a total of five seconds and fuck you Tom Jones for not being Bella.

"Mr. Jones, I'm good. It's a pleasure to hear from you. I take it we are still good on the pieces we had spoken about?"

"Oh yes, that's actually why I was calling. I know that you were scheduled to come up in the upcoming weeks to transport them back to New Orleans but we were wondering if you would be able to come sooner."

"How much sooner?" I asked thinking that under the shitty circumstances this was perfect timing.

"Well would Friday be too soon?"

I reached over for my phone to check the upcoming day. I scrolled through the events before I spoke to him. "No, Friday would be perfect. Do you mind if I ask why the sudden change in plans? Not that I mind, I actually have a friend up that way I would like to visit."

"Mr. Black, we would be honored if you would speak at a luncheon we have scheduled on Friday. Do you think you would be able to arrange that?"

"I'd love to. Do you mind emailing me specifics as to what the luncheon entails and I'll get some material together?" I asked suddenly feeling giddy at the idea of going to Washington.

"Yes, I can do that. Also Mr. Black, the Quileute tribe in La Push has offered their hospitality to you during your stay. Would you be opposed to staying on the reservation with them?"

I nearly fell out of my chair. The Quileute Indians were my whole reason for wanting to acquire these pieces. I had studied them for years. My thesis in college was centered on their legends and stories and to have the opportunity to stay with them would be the chance of a lifetime.

"I'd be honored, Mr. Jones. Thank you very much. Please email me all the necessary information I will need and I'll inform Aro of my plans. Also, Mr. Jones, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," he replied.

"How far is La Push from Forks?" I asked hopeful that they were close to one another.

"Oh, I'd say about twenty minutes away. I take it that is where your friend is?"

"Yes sir, it is. I'm thinking I might make the trip up that way a couple of days sooner if that would be alright with you."

"That shouldn't any problem. I'll get in touch with Mr. Clearwater on the reservation and let him know that you'll be visiting earlier."

"Thank you, Mr. Jones, I really appreciate this."

"The pleasure is all mine. Have a safe trip."

"Thank you."

I hung up the phone wanting to immediately pick it back up and call Bella. If things didn't end well with her dad then I knew she would have a lot on her plate right now. But staying at the reservation was huge news for me. I had to stop thinking so selfishly and think about her situation first. She was dealing with a possibly dying father while I rejoiced in the news of the Quileute tribe's invitation.

The phone rang which caused me to slightly jump in my chair. I reached for the receiver all the while praying that it was Bella on the other end.

"Jacob Black."

"Hey fucknuts. What'cha doing?"

I sighed. It wasn't Bella. "Hey Seth, I'm waiting on an email but that's about it. You?"

"I was just seeing if you wanted to catch up at the court later on and shoot some hoops. You're due an ass whooping."

"If I recall correctly, I believe I was the one who handed you your ass on a platter last time, but thanks for the offer. I'm actually headed out of town tomorrow. You'll never guess what just happened."

"Okay since I'll never guess why don't you save me the trouble and just tell me."

I rolled my eyes. "Dude, you're such a dick sometimes."

"Takes one to know one, loser, so what's the news?"

I recounted the conversation to Seth that I had with Mr. Jones. When I was finished the line was silent with a very pregnant pause. I thought maybe the call was dropped but then hysterical laughing erupted from the other end.

"Dude, did you say his name was Tom Jones? Please tell me you went all Vegas showman on him and started singing," Seth said between fits of laughter.

"Very funny douche bag. That would have been highly unprofessional of me. Although now that I think about it, I have 'What's New Pussycat' stuck in my head."

"I'm sorry man. Really I am. That's great news about the tribe. I know you're stoked about it," Seth said, finally able to speak without giggling like the prepubescent teenage girl he sometimes was. "Is Bella going with you? I mean, doesn't she have family up that way?"

I took a deep breath before I spoke again. "She's already up that way. Her dad had a massive heart attack yesterday so she flew up last night to be with him. It doesn't look good man."

"That sucks. Why didn't you go with her?"

"In all honesty, she didn't ask me to. I still haven't heard from her since she's made it up there, if she even made it at all."

"I'm sure she's just got a lot going on. You haven't tried calling her?"

I could go with one of two answers here. The first being to tell Seth the truth about how I had picked up the phone a million times to call her and check on things, or option two, lying. The second sounded so much better. I wasn't in the mood to be ridiculed about how I was being a pansy.

"I told her to call me when she knew something. I don't feel right bothering her, especially if he didn't make it." That was an honest answer. Not the full truth, but honest enough.

"I see. Well when you talk to her tell her I'm thinking about her. Call me when you get back. I want to hear all about the infamous Quileute Indians."

"Will do, Seth."

I hung up the phone and refreshed my email. Waiting in my inbox were two emails from Mr. Jones. One with all the information regarding the luncheon he asked me to speak at and the second with all the contact information I needed to arrive at the reservation. I replied to both letting him know I had received them and to tell him again how grateful I was for this opportunity.

For the remainder of the day I sent a slew of emails out informing people that I would be out of town for a few days. Aro stopped in my office on his way out congratulating me on the trip and to wish me well with the speaking engagement. I was just about to call it a day when my cell phone vibrated in my pants pocket. I had all but given up on Bella calling me when I looked down at the screen and saw her name flashing.

Formalities be damned. I answered the call like I had been waiting on it all day.

"Bella, how are things? How's your dad?" I asked, relieved that she had called.

"Um, not good. Dad passed this morning," Bella said.

I could hear her voice crack as the words passed from her mouth.

"Bella, I'm so sorry. What can I do?" I asked hoping she would tell me to hop on the first plane to Washington to be by her side.

"Nothing, the Cullens are taking care of everything for me. I don't even know when the funeral will be."

The Cullens, of course, the good doctor and his family, considering Bella's high school sweetheart was a Cullen, I could only assume that he would be there with her, for her, when it should have been me. I had to snap myself out of my own personal pity party. This was not the time to suddenly grow jealous of an ex boyfriend. Bella had just lost her father, she didn't need me being all emotional on her. So I left the ball in her court even though she would have no idea that I was going to be headed that way tomorrow.

"You'll call me and let me know right?"

"Yeah, but Jake, please don't think you have to come. You didn't even know him."

She was right. I didn't know him. But I knew he had one hell of a daughter whom I was falling in love with. Who needed me just as much as she needed the Cullens. I immediately thought of Emmett. He would be there for her. He was someone I had met, someone I liked. I had to assume that if his brother was anything like him then she would be in good hands. But that didn't satisfy my mind. I wanted to be there for her. I wanted her to want me to be there.

"Maybe not, but I do know and care about you." It was safer for me to tell her that then to come right on out and say I love you.

"Okay, I'll let you know. Listen, I need to check in with work. Can I call you later?"

"Sure. If you need anything, I'm here okay?"

"Okay. Thanks, Jake."

"Anything for you. Bye babe."

"Bye."

I hung up the phone and gathered my bags before heading out the door. Jane looked up from the receptionist desk as I walked past.

"Night, Jane," I called out knowing she wouldn't respond. She never did.

"Have a safe trip Jacob," she answered back which took me totally by surprise. I stopped dead in my tracks and turned back around to face the demonic receptionist.

I must have worn an amusing expression because she smirked before she continued talking. "Bella just called. I've spoken with Aro and we are going to send flowers to the visitation tomorrow from everyone here at the museum. You would like to have your name on them as well won't you? Or do you plan on making some grand romantic gesture once you get there?" she asked very matter of factly.

Stunned was not exactly the word I would have used to describe the conversation Jane and I were having. Or rather, the conversation Jane was having with my shocked self.

I nodded my head. "Thank you, Jane. Yes, please include me in the sympathies." I turned on my heal to walk out the door when a thought occurred to me. I spun back around quickly and walked a little closer to Jane's desk. "Jane, do you think you could text me the address of the funeral home once you send the flowers?"

She smirked again. What was up with her and her creepy smirk? "Yes, I can do that. Have a good night."

I half smiled and walked away. Tomorrow was going to be a big day. It could end in one of two ways; really, really good or really, really bad.

***

**The day of the visitation.**

I woke up that morning feeling optimistic. Well, as optimistic as I could be. I knew I would see Bella later in the evening and I was more than ready to wear my brave face for her. But I was overcome with excitement to meet with the tribe.

The plane ride to Seattle didn't take near as long as what I had been expecting. As soon as I arrived at the airport a car was waiting for me, courtesy of the museum. I programmed the address in the GPS system and began my drive and my meeting with Mr. Jones.

I arrived at the Seattle Art Museum and was immediately greeted by a very friendly woman. Jane could definitely learn a thing or two from this gal I thought. After introducing myself, she paged Mr. Jones who arrived not five minutes later. He was a tall, thin man with black rimmed glasses. I don't know what I had been expecting, maybe someone a little more like the real Tom Jones.

"Mr. Black, it's a pleasure to see you again. Was everything to your liking with your arrival?" he asked extending his hand to me. I took his hand and firmly shook it.

"Yes sir. Thank you very much."

"Good to hear. I take it you've gone over the materials I emailed to you?"

I nodded. "Yes I have. I'm very anxious to meet with the tribe later. They are my equivalent to big named celebrities. Some people go crazy meeting that guy from the Harry Potter movies. You know, the one that was killed by Voldy but he's a little too pretty for my liking."

Mr. Jones smiled and laughed. "You are a funny man, Mr. Black."

"Jacob, please call me Jacob."

He nodded. "And please call me Tom. There isn't much for us to discuss at the moment. You are more than welcome to head on over to the reservation if you'd like. They're expecting you."

"Sounds good. And thank you again, Tom. This is really the chance of a life time for me."

"No need to thank me, Jacob. They asked for you specifically. They are very aware of who you are."

Before I could engage our conversation into further discussions, his cell phone began to ring. I noticed the tone immediately. This guy had one hell of a sense of humor. The one and only Tom Jones' 'What's New Pussycat' rang through the lobby. I looked at him hoping that my facial expression wouldn't give away just how funny this whole thing was.

"Jacob, if you'll excuse me I need to take this. We will see you Friday."

"Thank you again," I said as he nodded and turned away back towards his office.

I left the museum with a wave to the refreshing woman behind the desk and made my way over to the reservation. An hour and a half later I had arrived. I rolled the windows down and was immediately met with the smell of salt water. I knew the beach was close and I was hoping that during my stay here they would take me on a tour of the entire reservation. I followed the directions to the address that Tom had provided me with where an older man was sitting outside on a porch swing. I parked the car and headed in the man's direction. He stood up and walked down the few steps that connected the gravel driveway.

"You must be Jacob," said the old man.

"Yes sir. You must be Mr. Clearwater."

"Harry, please call me Harry. I hope you found the place all right," He said, leading me inside his home.

"Yes sir, I did. Thank you for inviting me to stay. It means more to me than you can imagine."

He smiled and I swear I saw a twinkle in the man's eye. "You are a good man, Jacob. That I can tell just by looking at you. Are you thirsty? I can grab us a beer if you'd like."

"I better not. I have a funeral visitation to attend to and I don't want to risk drinking and driving."

"I understand. Do you mind me asking who you might know that would have passed?"

"Charlie Swan in Forks. I didn't really know him but I know his daughter."

He nodded his head and gestured for me to have a seat on his couch. "Yes, I heard about Chief Swan. Only met him a few times but he was a good man. He will be gravely missed that's for sure. I hope you don't mind but we don't have much planned in the ways of the tribe tonight. It sounds like that might be for the best anyways. This will give you a chance to be there for your lady friend. But tomorrow night we have big plans."

"Sounds good. I'm really looking forward to it."

"As are we. What time is the visitation?" Harry asked.

"I believe it starts at five."

"Well, you should get cleaned up. Feel free to make yourself at home."

"Thank you, Harry."

With that I walked back outside to retrieve my bag and headed for the bathroom. A good shower sounded nice. After relaxing in the warmth of the hot water, I got myself ready and on my way to the funeral home. Jane had texted me while I was on the plane with the address of the place so I programmed it in the GPS and set off.

By the time I left the reservation it was five-thirty. The trip would take me roughly twenty minutes. That put me at the visitation close to six. Then depending on how many people were there, I was looking at another twenty or so minutes standing in the receiving line. Well on the bright side, by the time I would see Bella it would be close to calling it a night. I just hoped she wouldn't be too upset to see me. How could she be? What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't show up at my girlfriend's father's funeral? A pretty shitty one. But when I thought about it, was I Bella's boyfriend? We had never talked about it but I wasn't seeing anyone else and I was pretty sure she wasn't either. And jeez, I was in love with this girl. How could she not be my girlfriend? Just because we hadn't made it past first base didn't mean I couldn't hold that title. Right?

The internal monologue going on inside my head lasted damn near the entire trip. When I pulled into the parking lot of the funeral home I noticed cars everywhere. Granted it was a small place and it was a small town so I guess maybe everyone had showed up to console Bella.

I strode out of the car and walked inside the lobby. People were spilling out of the doors that lead into the parlor. I craned my neck to look above everyone which really wasn't that much of a stretch, trying to see if I could find a familiar face. Well one of two faces really. Emmett or Bella. I saw neither. I did see a few people standing outside the doors greeting people as they came in. I immediately registered that these must be the Cullens. I never heard anyone say their names but who else could it be? Unless the funeral home supplied each death with its own welcome wagon. But if these were in fact the Cullens, they were a very pretty bunch. Damn pretty people with their pretty smiles and their white teeth and good hair. I don't know why I had all of a sudden become bitter towards a group of people I had never met. Maybe it was because they had been the ones helping Bella through this rough time when I wasn't. That wasn't fair of me. These people were like family to her. I should have been grateful to them.

What I wasn't grateful for was the horrific smell of cologne pouring off the guy in front of me. I had half a mind to tap him on the shoulder and tell him less was more but that wouldn't have been very nice of me. For all I know he could have been Bella's cousin or better yet Edward. Oh how I hoped it was Edward. Dude smelled like my old Uncle Vern.

After about fifteen minutes in line we had arrived closer to the casket and I could see the back of Bella's head and some pretty boy standing next to her. I prayed that he was just a cousin and that the musk wearing tool in front of me was Edward. Bella had her back turned and never saw me as I made my way closer in line. The pretty boy next to her noticed me immediately and crept his way closer to Bella. He had his hand on the small of her back and I thought I was about to bust out of my own skin. _Dude better be a fucking cousin!_ I thought. But before I could pee on Bella because let's face it I was pretty damn close to marking my territory, douche bag in front of me opened his mouth.

"Bella, I'm really sorry for your loss. Your dad was one hell of a guy."

"Thank you, Mike. He'd appreciate you saying that." Mike? Who the hell was Mike?

Pretty boy, with the top few buttons undone on his shirt, gave Mike a weak ass smile. Where the hell did this dude think he was? An audition for America's Next Top Model. But then Mike opened his mouth to verbally vomit everywhere. "Well, it's good to see that distance hasn't affected your relationship. I would have really thought that the two of you would never end up back together, but here you are just like old times."

Douche bag pulled Bella a little closer to him and smiled a genuine smile at Mike. Wait. What the fuck did Mike just say? I had been too busy staring at fucknuts' lack of decency from his chest all exposed (not that I was checking a dude out, for the record) that I think I heard him say something along the lines of relationship, back together and old times. I could feel my face become hot with anger and the fucker next to Bella noticed because he winked at me before addressing Mike again.

"No amount of time or distance could change the way I feel about Bella."

Oh hells to the no! I know he just did not say that! I knew for sure that steam had to be blowing out of my ears. I unconsciously balled my hands into tight fists. Breathe Jacob. Breathe. I'm sure there is a logical explanation for all of this. Do not cause a scene at the casket of who you thought was your girlfriend's dead father. Girlfriend. I mean seriously. Bella and I had never had the exclusive conversation with one another. I just assumed. I mean what was I supposed to do? Pass her a note at work asking, _Bella, would you be my girlfriend? Please check yes or no. _I mean, how gay is that? Apparently I should have made my intentions about her a little more clearly.

And just when I thought the conversation couldn't get any worse. It did. "So I see. Well, Edward, if you don't mind me saying your girlfriend is still one hell of a looker."

Mother. Fucker. Two things were said in that statement that made me want to seriously mess up the face of pretty boy. Edward and girlfriend. Fuck me!

"Thank you, Mike. That's umm, sweet," Bella said. No, thank you wasn't what I had expected to hear come out of her mouth. I had hoped to hear more like, fuck you Mike. But she didn't correct him. She just said thank you.

As Mike walked away, I stood there dumbstruck. I was suddenly at a loss for words. What the hell just happened? I watched as Edward leaned down and placed a kiss on Bella's check. It was in that moment that she turned around and I could have swore I saw her lose her balance when she noticed that I had been standing behind Mike. She registered the look on my face and she knew in that moment that I had just heard every single word that was spoken between the three of them. I had to remind myself that this wasn't the place to start a confrontation with Bella or Mr. GQ. I was going to be the mature one here. But that didn't mean that I couldn't throw daggers at the asshole standing next to Bella.

"Jake! Oh my gosh, what are you doing here?" she asked as she let go of Edward and made her way over to embrace me in a hug. I kept my gaze firmly on Edward. If looks could kill, this fucker would be dead right now. I was channeling my inner Jane at the moment.

I pulled away from her while I kept the death stare on Edward. "I... um... came to pay my respects."　

"You didn't have to. I told you that, but thank you," she said giving me a lame ass smile. With a look like that I must have had the words, complete moron, plastered across my forehead.

"Well, they moved my trip to Seattle up to Friday. I figured I'd come up a few days early to be here for you. But from the looks of it, you've got one hell of a support system already," I said never looking past Edward. I'm sure my tone indicated how pissed I was. Bella noticed the looks I had been giving Edward because she chose that moment to introduce us to one another.

"I'm so sorry," she began, "Edward, this is my...um, friend from New Orleans, Jacob Black."

Friend? That wasn't how I had been expecting to be introduced. I could have handled this is the guy who has been keeping me company for the past several months now while you've been gallivanting where ever it is that you gallivant off to, but friend, that hurt.

Edward held out his hand to me and I took it with a sour look on my face. "Jacob, it's nice to meet you. I'm Edward Cullen. Bella's mentioned you. I'm glad she has such a good friend who would travel all this way."

He knew how to put on a fake face for Bella. I wondered if she knew what a fucktard this dude was. I had known him all of what, five seconds and I could see that. But I did the polite thing and shook his hand and kept up polite formalities. "Edward. Yeah, Bella's talked about you. It's nice to finally put a face to a name."

A face I'd like to severely mess up.

"Jacob, I'm sorry. I didn't have the chance to let you know what all was going on. Things have happened so quickly. How did you know today was the visitation?" Bella asked, interrupting the pissing match that was taking place in front of her.

"The museum sent flowers."

She looked around and noticed the arrangements that were off to the side of the casket. "When we called the funeral home to set up the delivery of the arrangement, I asked when the funeral would be taking place. I just figured since I would have to be up this way on Friday I'd come to pay my respects."

"Oh. Well, thank you for the flowers. Please make sure you tell everyone at work I said thank you as well."

"Sure, sure," I said and lowered my head staring at my feet in the process.

"Where will you be staying while you're in town?" Bella asked. Why did I find this question odd? It was a perfectly normal question but for some reason it ate at me.

"Oh, well, the Quileute Indians have offered to let me stay on the reservation. Some of the pieces I'm in town for are from their tribe, so it will give me an opportunity to find more out about them."

"Oh that's wonderful!" she replied with real enthusiasm in her voice.

"Yeah, it is."

"When will you be leaving?" Wow, I had just gotten here and already it felt like she was pushing me out of town.

"Sunday, I'm giving a lecture on Friday at the museum and Saturday we make the arrangements for the pieces to fly out. Then on Sunday I head back to the Big Easy. Um, Bella, I don't mean to hound you, but when do you think you'll be returning?" Now the tables were turned on her.

"Oh Jake, I have no idea. I hadn't really thought much about it to be honest."

Out of nowhere, a crazy ass looking dude with even crazier dreads and a foreign accent strode his way over to us. "Ms. Swan, the visitation is officially over now. I'm going to close the doors to the parlor. Whenever you and Mr. Cullen are ready, there are some papers I need for you to sign, as well as a few things I need to go over with you regarding tomorrow."

Her and Mr. Cullen? What? Was he her lackey now? Was he following her every move? I knew it had been a long time since the two of them had seen each other but damn, pull your head out of her ass.

"Oh, sure, we'll be just a minute," she replied. I guess that was my cue to leave.

"Well, I guess I'll be on my way," I said while I leaned in for a hug.

"Jacob, why don't you come back to the house with us? I'm sure you're hungry. My mother has been cooking all day, and not to mention, all the food people have already brought over," Edward asked.

_'Jacob why don't you come over to my house. My mother has been cooking.' _I repeated in a sing song voice in my head. Was he asking for an early death? Bella looked up at him and I couldn't decipher why she looked so confused. Was she mad that he just invited me over to his house? I guess he could read minds because he answered her question without her having to even ask. She looked back at me and extended the invitation again. This time she used Emmett as a means to get me to agree to come.

Before I could accept or decline the offer, two of the people I had seen standing in the lobby when I arrived, waltzed over to us. The little dark haired girl extended her hand to mine introducing herself as Alice Cullen. I took her small, tiny hand afraid I was going to break it if I shook it too hard. Bella introduced me for the second time as her friend from New Orleans, although I'm pretty sure my name registered with Alice because she raised her eyebrows. Suddenly, the two names clicked. Alice and Jasper.

"Oh, the happy couple since the age of six. It's very nice to meet both of you." I said meaning it a little more than when I met Edward.

"Likewise," Jasper added as he took my hand. "So Bella's told you about us, huh?"

"Oh yeah. I've heard how Emmett and Rosalie were the king and queen of Forks High, how the two of you have been bonded to one another since kindergarten, how Edward and Bella..."

"Jake, we have the rest of the night to catch everybody up on what all I've told you." Bella cut in before I could explain that I knew who he was.

"I need to finish some things up here, why don't you head out with Alice and Jasper?" she suggested. "Edward and I will meet you outside."

What was I supposed to say? So I continued to play nice. "Yeah, that sounds good. Alice, Jasper, lead the way."

I followed them outside where we stood around our cars in the now empty parking lot. I instantly felt comfortable around these two. It was like they radiated this calming effect that empowered me not to want to beat the shit of Edward.

"Jacob, you work at the museum with Bella?" Jasper asked keeping his arm around Alice's tiny waist.

"Yeah. I'm the curator for the Indian Art Collection."

"That's really cool man. Are you from New Orleans?"

"No, I'm originally from Arizona. What about you?" I asked suddenly interested in what he did for a living.

"I'm a builder in Dallas," Jasper replied but I noticed that Alice's face somewhat fell. Was she upset I didn't ask what she did for a living?

"What about you, Alice? What do you do?"

I'm pretty sure she gave me the same look I had given her brother earlier in the evening. "I'm Alice Cullen," she replied.

"Okay and I'm Jacob Black."

Jasper cracked a smile while Alice huffed apparently not amused by my joke. "You've never heard of me?"

I shook my head. "No, should I have?"

Jasper tightened his grip on Alice. "Alice is a fashion designer."

"Oh really? For who?"

I seriously thought she was about to cry or hit me. Thank God Jasper quickly changed the subject because I had just met this girl and making her cry within knowing her of all ten minutes was sure to put me in the dickhead hall of fame.　

"So I hear you spent some time with Emmett during Mardi Gras? Tell me, how bad off did he get?"

I laughed. "Not too bad. I only spent Sunday with him. He did coin a catch phrase that has taken over the vocabulary of my friends."

"Oh yeah?" Jasper asked. "What would that be?"

"He went around exclaiming 'I

t's Mardi Gras, bitches' so it's kind of taken off with my friends. Now everything is 'It's game day, bitches' or 'It's chow time, bitches'."

Jasper laughed and Alice smiled for the first time since I had unintentionally insulted her. "That sounds like Emmett."

The three of us laughed at Emmett's expense when the doors to the funeral home opened and Bella and Edward stepped out, hand in hand. The smile I had on my face dropped as soon as I saw the two of them in such a comfortable embrace. As they approached, Jasper was the first to speak.

"Is everything set?"

"Yeah, all done. Now I just have to get through tomorrow," Bella said, keeping her gaze averted from mine.

"Well, let's get going, I'm hungry. Jacob, why don't you follow us to the house?" Edward said as he opened the door for Bella.

I nodded but never took my eyes off of Bella. She looked over at me as I climbed into my car and gave me a pitiful look. Was it one of pity? Had she fallen back into a familiar pattern with Edward this early on?

I followed Edward and his fancy ass car to his parent's house. Of course they had to live in one of the biggest houses I had ever seen. I wondered if they had servants and shit. I pulled into the driveway and stepped out of the car when I noticed that Bella held back from the group, waiting for me to catch up to her. The others quickly ran into the house.

Bella nudged my arm as we passed through the front doors. "Hey, thanks for coming. It really means a lot."

I smiled. "Sure. Hey, I think Alice may be a little upset with you. What's that about?"

She laughed. "She's fine. Her pride's just a little hurt."

Damn, I really had insulted her. I'll have to figure out what that was all about later. Right now I was hoping to have a little one on one time with Bella. Before I could ask for a moment alone with Bella, Emmett bounded down the stairs, taking them two at a time with the cheesiest grin on his face. Well, at least someone was excited to see me.

"Hey, hey, Jacob. What's crack-a-lackin man?" he asked as he reached out to shake my hand.

"Oh, nothing much, what about you?"

"Just L.I.V.I.N," Emmett replied.

"What's with the camera?" I asked pointing to the camera he was holding.

"Oh, this? Mom just wanted me to get a few, um...."

"Pictures?" I asked.

"Yeah, pictures. Hey, come on in the kitchen. I'd like you to meet my fiancée."

"Oh really? So then I take it things are good with Rosalie?"

"Yup, really good. Hey, Rosie, are you in the kitchen? A friend of Bella's is here from New Orleans and I want you to meet him," Emmett called out as he alerted Rosalie and everyone else in the house of my presence.

"Yeah baby, I'm in here," she called back.

I hadn't even laid eyes on this chick but I could tell from the sound of her voice that she was going to be a hottie. As I rounded the corner I would have never guessed in a million years who would have been standing there. The glorious form of a beautiful blond turned away from the stove to acknowledge me.

.God. It was Rosalie fucking Hale. I had been permanently glued to the spot I was standing in. I couldn't move. I couldn't speak. I'm pretty sure I was drooling too. I registered the flash of a camera and it dawned on me why Emmett had the camera. It was to catch the dumbass look on my face at the sight of his fiancée.

I heard laughing but I couldn't be sure where it was coming from. All I saw was a freakin super model headed in my direction. She walked closer and before I knew it she was right in front of my face using her finger to close my open mouth. I saw her lips moving and I guessed she was talking but I could not tell you for the life of me what she had said. And then she winked at me and held out her hand. She fucking winked at me!

"Hale. You're Rosalie Hale. Holy shit!" I shouted with a little too much excitement in my voice. I turned slightly in my uprooted spot to find Bella in the room. I glared at her for leaving out this critical piece of information. It would have been kind of nice to know that the Rosalie she spoke of was in fact the world famous super model.

"Well, come July 4th, it will be Cullen. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm sorry; I don't think I got your name."

"Jake, Jacob Black," I stuttered out.

"Well, which is it? Jake or Jacob?" Oh she was a feisty little firecracker.

"Whatever you prefer." It was the truth. I didn't care if she called me scum, ass wipe, dog or any other kind of name. I would have answered to anything that poured from those perfect lips.

Before I could continue to embarrass myself, another woman appeared in the kitchen with a man I had seen earlier. These must be the parentals. She introduced herself as Esme, I would have called her MILF if I was being honest, and then introduced her husband as Carlisle, whom I would have referred to as DILF. I think being around so many pretty people had royally fucked with my head today. I NEVER in all my life had judged the attractiveness of dudes and today I found myself doing it twice. Damn pretty people.

"Thank you," I said, not quite sure why I was thanking her.

Dinner was a nice break. The good doctor was a pretty interesting man. I explained to him the art I had acquired and my other reason for coming to Washington. He had dealt with the Quileute Indians before and it was nice and refreshing to hear the stories he had on the tribe. Esme the MILF was an amazing cook. I hadn't eaten this good since I had been home with my own family for the holidays. Even Rosalie cleaned her plate and went in for seconds. And here I had thought that most models didn't eat. Edward had excused himself at one point to take care of some sort of business in New York. I hoped he was making arrangements to return. While he was away, it seemed to be the perfect time for me to talk with Bella but Emmett had other ideas. He took me down to the house that he and Rosalie were building on the other side of his parent's house.

After seeing the house plans, I was pretty sure that his house was going to put his parent's house to shame. He invited me back up when football season began so that I could watch the game in his home theater. Who has a home theater? Rich people, that's who.

After what seemed like an eternity, we made our way back to the main house where we found Alice and Bella at a table enjoying a few glasses of wine. I looked around and noticed that Edward was still nowhere to be seen. I walked over to the chair Bella was sitting in and rested my hand on her shoulder. She gently placed her hand on top of mine and gave me a small smile. I hated the fact that she was going through all of this. She looked so sad, so broken. I would have given anything to take the pain away from her. I took a quick glance at my watch and noticed that it was close to ten. I needed to get back to the reservation. I didn't want to overstep my welcome. I walked over to Emmett and Jasper and thanked them for a wonderful evening. Even Alice, whom I was pretty sure I had pissed off, glided over and hugged me. Bella stood from her chair and excused herself to walk me to my car. The silence was deafening for a few seconds before I couldn't take it anymore.

"Where's Edward been?" I asked instantly wanting to take the question back.

"Upstairs making a few phone calls, it's been easy to forget about the rest of our lives when we're here."

"So it seems." So it seemed indeed.

"Jake, I didn't mean it like that, I'm sorry."

"Bella, don't be. I mean, the six of you haven't been all together in a long time. It's understandable." That was the truth. I could understand that. I couldn't understand however that I was referred to as the friend from New Orleans. Angela is a friend from New Orleans. Unless she had kissed Angela as well, I thought of myself as a little more than just a friend. And if she had kissed Angela, I would have been a little pissed she hadn't invited me to watch.

We didn't say much else as we walked towards the car. I opened the door and climbed into the driver's seat when I looked at her and told her to call me if she needed me. I knew I was only kidding myself. She wouldn't need me. She had them and I was grateful to most of them for that. Most of them. She only nodded and leaned into the car to give me a hug before I pulled out of the driveway.

I pulled out onto the main road before I picked up my cell phone to send a text to my boys back home.

_'F.M.L.'_

Before I even made it to the 'Welcome to Forks Sign' my phone buzzed. Paul was the first to respond to my rant of a message. I picked up and sounded a little too much like a wuss for my own comfort.

"Hello."

"Fuck my life, huh?"

"Yeah, fuck my life. Why is it that chicks totally suck, dude?" I asked deciding to just lay it all out there.

"It that a bad thing? I mean, I'm totally down for when chicks suck." He replied and I heard laughter from not just him but another person in the background.

"Not what I mean dude, although, that is nice when they do that. Who you got over there?"

"What's up loser?" The other voice replied now on speakerphone.

"Hey Seth."

"So Bella sucks, huh?" Seth asked.

I rolled my eyes. "Not the kind of sucking I would like, but yes in general she sucks."

"What happened?" Paul asked between what sounded like some heavy breaths.

"I don't know man. Really I don't. I went to her dad's visitation tonight and her ex-boyfriend was there."

"So?" They both asked at the same time.

"So... it would appear that said prick of an ex-boyfriend would like to be back in the picture. I was introduced all around as the friend from New Orleans."

"Ouch," Paul said. "That blows man. Have you talked to her about it?"

"When would I have had the chance?" I could hear the two of them huffing through the phone. "What the fuck are you two doing by the way?"

"Seth brought over the Wii and we're bowling. It's fucking awesome man. So much like the real thing. You need to hurry home so I can kick your ass six ways to Sunday on this thing," Paul said.

"That's doubtful, dude. I can kick your scrawny ass in just about anything."

"Sure you can, although I'm pretty sure when I meet a girls ex-boyfriend I'm never referred to as a friend. They tend to use the phrase boy toy or macho man."

"Fuck you, Paul," I said now regretting that I had even bothered calling them. "Oh hey, have either of you ever heard of an Alice Cullen?" I thought maybe they might be able to shed some light on who she designed clothes for. They had, on more than one occasion, been caught reading a chick magazine.

"No," Paul chimed in first. "Does she say she knows us?"

Before I could comment back, Seth spoke up. "Yeah, I've heard of her. She's a fashion designer. For a chick she has some pretty cool clothes for men."

"Who does she design for? Anyone I might know?"

"She is her own label. Alice Cullen Originals, J.A.Z. Ring any bells?" Seth asked.

"Why are you asking us this gay ass question dude?" Paul retorted.

I huffed out an exasperated breath. "Because, she's Emmett and the ex-boyfriend's sister."

"Seriously? Damn, a family full of famous people. What does the ex do?" Seth inquired.

"I don't know man. I really didn't get on a personal level with him. But it figures his sister would be some fashion mogul. That fuckwad looked like he just stepped off the cover of GQ. But speaking of more famous people, you'll never guess who sat across from me at the dinner table tonight or who is engaged to Emmett."

"What's 'ol Emmett up to? Did he bag the chick he talked about while he was down here?" Seth asked, but before I could answer him Paul interrupted.

"Dude, I bet he gets so much pussy being who he is. I mean, I'd fuck him if I was down with dudes. What? Don't look at me like that Seth, I swear to God I'll kick your ass. You're the little bitch who knew who the sister was."

I laughed. I wished they could be here with me but knowing they were just a phone call away and would help talk me down from whatever depression was sure to set in made me feel a lot better.

"Well, let me tell you. He has nabbed the grand hoo-ha of pussy."

"Who?"

"Tell us! Is she famous?"

In Emmett fashion I answered, "It's Rosalie Hale, bitches." And with that I ended the call before either of them starting screaming like little girls on the phone.

After I hung up I realized that I had talked to them practically the entire way back to the reservation. I pulled into Harry's driveway hoping I hadn't woken him. He gave me a key before I left earlier, so I used it to let myself in. I was surprised when I saw a woman flitter alone inside the house.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Harry left me a key. I just assumed no one would be up," I said embarrassed that I had just barged in someone else's house.

She motioned for me to continue in. "It's fine. You must be Jacob." I nodded. "I'm Sue, Harry's wife. We're very excited to have you stay with us."

"Thank you, Mrs. Clearwater," I said, but was met with her waving her hands in front of her face.

"Please, call me Sue. I have the guest room all set up for you."

"Thank you. And I'm sorry if I woke you up."

"You didn't. I was just setting the coffee to brew for in the morning. Harry goes to bed early. He'd like everyone to think he can stay up well past the evening news, but he's usually out before nine-thirty."

I laughed. "Thank you again, Sue."

She nodded her head and I walked past her towards down the hall towards the guest room. I stripped down to just my boxers and crawled into bed. I relaxed my body but my mind was racing with everything I had taken in during the day. At this rate I was never going to fall asleep. I tried counting sheep, hell I even tried counting the ways I could harm Edward Cullen but nothing. Eventually my mind gave up and I was able to sleep, for a few hours anyway.

***

**The day of the funeral**

6:45 AM

I rolled over and stared at the red luminescent numbers on the alarm clock. I had tossed and turned for the better part of the night. During my sleep deprived state I had come up with about thirty different ways I could do bodily damage to Edward Cullen. But each time I'd come up with a new one, I would imagine the hurt and sadness on Bella's face. It was apparent that she still loved him. You could see it in her eyes. The ways she had looked at him the night before; how it seemed that her body molded perfect to his when he placed his hand on the small of her back, or how she inclined herself to every single move he made towards her.

I was royally fucked.

Deciding that it would be rude of me to spend the entire day in this room while I agonized over what had happened the previous night, I strolled out of bed and into the small bathroom across the hall. I showered and dressed quickly, not quite sure why I was in such a rush. I had every intention of going to the funeral today but it wouldn't begin until eleven.

When I emerged into the living room, I instantly smelled the coffee that Sue had set to brew the night before. I poured myself a cup and looked around for any signs of life inside the house. It was eerily quiet so I took my cup onto the porch where I noticed Harry perched on the porch swing just as he was the day I had arrived.

"Good morning, Jacob. Please come have a seat," he said while he inclined his head towards the vacant seat next to him.

I moved to him and sat down. We were quiet for a moment as we listened to the early morning sounds of the birds chirp and the promise of a new day beginning.

Harry took a sip of his coffee and turned to me. "It's God's country out here."

I nodded my head. There was no need to elaborate. He had said it all in that one simple statement.

"So the funeral is today." He stated it as a fact rather than forming it like a question. "Why are you not there consoling your lady friend?"

I took a sip from my own cup before I answered him. I felt like with Harry there was no point in holding back emotions. He gave off this vibe like he already knew the answers but he would be willing to help if you laid it out there.

"Well, it would appear as though she may not need me. She has a wonderful set of people helping her cope through this and I just don't see any place for me at the moment."

"Jacob, do you know our stories, our legends?" he asked.

"Yes, sir. I would like to think I'm pretty knowledgeable in that area. Why do you ask?"

He cleared his throat before he began speaking. "I am a firm believer in that our legends can extend out to those who are not members of the tribe. The possibility of a soul mate is talked about amongst everyone in the world. But here with us, we refer to it as imprinting."

I nodded my head, fully aware of the story.

"Jacob, do you feel you have found the right person in this woman? Would you move Heaven and Earth to be near her? Would you do anything for her?"

I looked over at Harry who still had that twinkle in his eye. "Yes sir. I believe so."

"Well then, you need to get your ass in gear. She may be surrounded by people that love her and who are helping her through this extremely difficult time, but you need to make the effort to be there for her as well." He hesitated for a moment, taking a sip from his coffee. "How do you young people phrase it? You need to step up your game son."

I cracked a smile. It instantly faded as soon as I felt the fear of rejection settle in the pit of my stomach. I didn't have to voice my concerns on the issue. Harry answered before I could.

"You'll never know unless you try. Now, go. We have plans tonight."

I walked back inside and placed my coffee cup in the sink. As I marched down the front steps of Harry's house I paused to thank him.

"You're welcome, Jacob. And listen, if the feelings are not reciprocated, don't give up. You never know who may come into your life when you least expect it. It could be tonight for all you know."

I had to smile at his optimism. I wasn't sure I could look to another if things with Bella did not work out. It seemed like too much to think about when I wasn't even sure where I stood with her.

I decided to drive back to the Cullens to see if there was anything I could do for Bella. Even if she only needed me to iron a shirt for her, I would make myself known. She needed to know that the Cullens, or rather Edward, weren't the only people who cared for her. They weren't the only people who wanted to help her through this.

I pulled into the long winding driveway when a shape off in the distance caught my eye. I crept the car closer when I noticed someone emerging from the tree house in the backyard. It was Edward and he was shirtless. Humph. God how I hoped that they didn't have an extra bedroom in the house for him and he was subjected to sleeping outside, but who was I kidding, the house was huge! And even if there wasn't an extra bed, there was always a couch to lie on. He stopped at the foot of the ladder and extended his arms out. Another person descended from the steps but stopped short before they leapt into Edward's awaiting arms. I felt like a peeping Tom. But then I noticed who the other person was. There was no mistaking that beautiful brown hair. It was Bella and she was wearing his shirt from the night before. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he leaned in closer. I threw the car in reverse as soon as his lips met hers. I couldn't stay to watch this. To be made a fool of.

I don't know if they heard me and I really didn't care. It killed me seeing her wrapped up in his arms. They had obviously spent the night together. I didn't want to even think about how she ended up in his shirt. I knew how she had and it only made it that much harder to stomach. I had been seeing Bella for months now. For months I had never pushed her to move forward with me, with us. It was apparent why she never had either. It was him. The stalls in our relationship, it was all about him.

I pulled over onto the side of the road and threw up. It had been too much for me to take in. I was such an idiot for thinking that I could come to town and be that person for her. She had that person all along. But why had he not been with her? Why did it take her dad dying for him to come back to her when I had been the one with her?

Once I decided that there was nothing left in my stomach to come up, I drove through the town of Forks until I came to a small diner. I couldn't eat. That was out of the question, but water would be a good idea. I parked the car and made my way to the front doors of the diner. It was a seat yourself kind of joint, so I grabbed a corner booth in the back. An older woman came over, took my drink order and left. When she came back I decided that some dry toast might help calm my nerves. I sat in the booth and ate my toast contemplating whether or not I should go to the funeral after witnessing her with him the morning after.

I had to put my personal feelings aside. Regardless of the fact that Bella was apparently still in love with her ex, I was going to show that I was the bigger person. That I was a man. I could handle rejection, to an extent, but I wanted her to see my face. I wanted her to see me and at least give me some sort of explanation as to what the hell was going on. She owed me that, damn it. And as soon as the funeral was over with, I was going to get answers.

After I had spent the better part of the morning alone in the corner booth of the diner, I drove over to the cemetery. Cars were lined up all along the street. There wasn't a chair vacant, it was standing room only at this point. I found a secluded spot off to the side out of the way under a huge oak tree. I leaned my body against the trunk and waited.

I had only been waiting for about ten minutes when the hearse pulled up. From where I stood, there wasn't a whole lot you could see. It was another few minutes before I saw several men carrying the casket to its final resting place. I recognized Emmett, Jasper, and Dr. Cullen as three of the men acting as pallbearers. Right behind them Bella was being escorted by Edward. He had his arm around her waist as she cried. As hurt and upset as I was with her, I still wanted to be the man standing next to her. She was scanning the crowd of people that had come out to pay their respects, when her eyes finally found mine. I dropped my head instantly. I couldn't look at her without her seeing the anger behind them. This was not the time for me to show her how angry I was. This was her time to grieve. The problem was it was mine also.

I would have been lying if I had said I had paid attention to what the chaplain had said. The fact was I was too focused on what I was going to say to Bella when this was over with. A part of me wanted to fight for her. But there was another part that knew I needed to let her go. She didn't need me. Even as hard as I tried, although it had gone unnoticed, she had everyone she needed with her at this moment. They were all seated around her. Either holding her hand or offering a shoulder to cry on. I was the wallflower in the back holding up the oak tree like it was about to fall over.

As soon as the service came to a close, people began filing out towards their cars. I stayed behind making sure I was guaranteed a chance to speak to Bella. It couldn't continue on any longer. We needed to lay it all out there. I felt like a dick considering her father had only laid to rest for all of five minutes, but there was no way I was going back to New Orleans with any kind of uncertainty.

The Cullens excused themselves as Bella stood at the grave. Each one offered me a sympathetic smile as they passed. Emmett was the only one who spoke, offering me a small hello. Bella spun around as she heard my name come out of Emmett's mouth. Her eyes were blotchy and red, but she still looked beautiful. I walked towards her and did the only thing I knew to do. I held my arms out for what could possibly be our final embrace.

"I can't tell you enough how sorry I am and that you are having to deal with this," I said, putting everything I had into our hug.

"Thank you. And thanks again for coming."

"No problem."

What happened next actually kind of surprised me. She asked Edward if he wouldn't mind giving us a few moments alone. I could have swore when he walked away he looked sorry. I was probably just seeing things. Dude probably had gas. Of course, like he was trying to get the last word in, he kissed her on the forehead. Again I wanted to hit him, but then it hit me as to why she had asked him to leave. She was dumping me!

I looked around and noticed that we were the only two people left. I turned my gaze back to her, boring holes into her eyes. This was her fight. I was determined to stand here all day if we had to until she was the first to speak. Of course, I'm a big pussy and the sadness in her deep brown eyes got to me. I might as well put my own self out of misery. So I started off the conversation with the one thing I didn't want to hear.

"Bella, if you start this conversation off with, 'it's not you, it's me,' I'm going to walk away and not give you the chance to speak your piece."

Through her sobs she spoke. "Jake, I'm so sorry."

And then she got silent. All except for the crying. Well fuck me! That was the line she was going for. It was so over used. So cliché. I mean, tell me I have dog breath or something. So I gave in. Again.

"Damn it! Fine, Bella, if you have to use that line, then use it." I huffed out like the baby I am while I shifted my weight from one foot to the other.

"It's the truth though. It's not you."

"But it's him, isn't it?" I knew the answer to this. I knew it last night when neither of them denied what Mike had said and it was confirmed this morning as she left in his arms, in his shirt.

"Jake you have to understand. Edward's been the love of my life since I was fifteen. He's all I've ever wanted. Please believe me that I never meant to hurt you. I never meant for this to happen."

I took a deep breath before I started in. I could feel the anger rise in my chest as the words boomed out of my mouth. "For what to happen? To be with him again? Bella, I may have been born at night, but it wasn't last night. I've seen how the two of y'all have been the past couple of days. He's head over heals in love with you and I can tell you feel the same way about him."

Then it occurred to me. This hadn't just come about. She had known for a while she felt this way about him. I was so stupid not to see it before. "Bella, how long have you known?"

"Known what?"

"Known that you were eventually going to do this?" You know, shit on me.

Her silence confirmed my suspicions. "Yeah, that's what I thought." I couldn't look at her anymore. I was so pissed but I knew if I looked at her for too long, I'd feel bad for being so mad at her. But damn it! I was mad. She had been stringing me along for God knows how long.

"Jake, please," she pleaded. "You mean the world to me but my heart has always belonged to him."

"Your heart as well as your body," I said, with no intention of her hearing me.

"Excuse me?" she asked and I flinched at the anger that was behind her words.

Well shit. No, you know what? Fuck it! I was angry. She needed to know that I had seen her. Yeah, it was a low blow, but at that point, I could have cared less. She needed a dose of her own medicine. "Bella, I saw the two of you this morning. I saw you, in his shirt, leaving that tree house in the Cullen's back yard."

I finally turned to face her. She had gone as pale as a ghost.

"That was you? You were the one we heard on the driveway? Were you spying on me?"

Spying? Please. Maybe I should have told her that there mere sight of them made me hurl. But instead I opted for the mature answer. We were both pissed. There was no need to add fuel to the fire.

"No. I came to see how you were, if maybe you might need me. I should have known yesterday that you didn't need me anymore but instead, I listened to my heart instead of my head and came to see you. As soon as I saw you wrapped up in his arms I left. I knew right then that you would never be mine that you never really were." I hesitated before I began my next question. "Can I ask you one question though?"

She nodded. "I'm going to try and phrase this without sounding like your typical chauvinistic, only ever thinking about one thing, man. Is he the reason why we never had sex?"

Her eyes got huge at my directness of the question. I had a right to know. Hell, my trusty right hand wanted answers. "Yeah, this morning you saw me after my first time, ever."

I so had not expected that answer.

"Ever? Wow. And here I was just thinking that you were a prude."

As soon as I called her a prude her eyes got big again, but this time they were filled with hate. I saw her eyes scan over to the chairs that were still set up and I considered hiding behind the oak tree. I'll be the first to admit, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

"I'm sorry, Bella. I shouldn't have said that. I wasn't thinking. I mean, I'm mad as hell and hurt. I swear I'm not trying to bring you down with me."

"No, it's okay. I deserve everything you're throwing at me."

"No you don't. It's just that, well, I don't think it would hurt as bad if I didn't love you. I love you, Bella. I've wanted to tell you for a while now."

There. All admissions were out on the table now. I knew there was no way that she could feel the same way, but I couldn't leave here without her knowing how I felt.

"I know. And I'm sorry that I can't love you back the way you want me to. The way you deserve to be."

I could feel the tears as they threatened to spill over. "I guess I kind of knew it was coming. I guess I just thought that maybe I'd have a fair shot."

"I'm sorry I couldn't give it to you," she replied, never meeting my eyes.

"Yeah. Me too."

We stood in silence for a few more minutes. I hoped that when this was all said and done, that when the time came, she and I could look back on this and laugh. I wanted Bella in my life. Even if it was as just a friend. Edward didn't know how lucky he was. Speaking of Edward...

"So.... what's your next move? Have the two of you talked about that yet?" I asked.

"I'm not sure. We haven't worked out any of the specifics yet."

"I'm not going to ask if he makes you happy. I can see that he does and that's all I want for you, Bella. I just want you to be happy. I wish it could have been with me, but I guess you can't change fate can you?"

"No. You can't."

"Well, I guess there's not much left to say." I walked over to her and wrapped my arms around her waist. I inhaled the smell of her hair deeply. I knew that this would be the last time I'd be this close to her and I wanted to savor it. I wanted to remember how she felt, what she smelled like.

"I wish the two of you nothing but the best. Please know that. And as much as I'm hurting right now, I'm not mad at you. You did what you had to do. I'll get over it," I said, pulling away.

"Thanks, Jake. And I am really sorry."

I placed a single finger against her lips to quiet her. "Don't be. Take care Bella." I leaned over and gave her a small peck on the cheek. Her skin was so warm under my lips, so soft. I thought for a moment I was going to lose it. But I held on and walked away.

I made my way to the car, thankful that it was nowhere near where the Cullens, or Edward, were. There was no way I'd be able to look at any of them right now. I couldn't bear to have any of them see the hurt that I knew was apparent all over my face. I drove away from the cemetery and away from Bella, unsure as to when I would see her again.

The ride back to the reservation was quiet. I didn't even turn the radio on. I wanted to wallow in my own thoughts. I wanted time alone. Upon pulling into the reservation I decided not to go straight back to Harry's. Instead, I drove around taking in the scenery. Kids were out in the streets playing catch and I thought briefly about how it once felt like to not have a care in the world. To be young again. To not have to worry about anything except the little things in life. I rounded a corner and was immediately greeted by the view of the beach. I found a parking spot off on the side of the road and made my way down to the water. There was a slight breeze in the air and it almost made it chilly standing next to the water. A large piece of driftwood had floated on the shore. It looked like the perfect spot to sit and think.

I sat for a while, lost in my own thoughts. Had he not spoken, I would have never known he was there.

"Young Jacob, I take it things did not fair well with your lady friend?"

I turned my head to the sound of his voice. He took the seat next to me, offering me a moment of silence. "No sir. Not at all. Harry, why is it that love hurts? Why can it be so wonderful while it's good, but so painful when it's not?"

He smiled and the twinkle in his eyes was more prominent. "Isn't that the million dollar question? Although, I tend to believe that if she had been your soulmate, you'd never feel pain."

I thought over what he had said. I wanted Bella to be my mate so bad. But according to the Quileutes, there was no way she could be. I knew it would take me awhile to understand everything but at this point, I was unsure if I ever would.

Harry placed his hand on my back and patted it softly. "Come, we have lots to do tonight. Can you give an old man a ride back home? I don't feel like walking all the way back."

"Sure. Harry? How did you know Sue was the one for you?" If the legends he spoke of were in fact real, I wanted to hear from someone first hand what it would feel like when I did find my soulmate.

We stood from the driftwood and began making our way back to the car. "You'll know as soon as you see her. There are no words to describe, you'll just know."

We drove back to his house in a comfortable silence. When we made our way up to the house Harry grabbed me by the back of the arm to stop me.

"I forgot to tell you earlier. Sue has her sister here to help with dinner tonight."

I nodded and he smiled. We walked into his house where Sue was in the kitchen preparing food for tonight. As I walked deeper into the house, I was pleasantly surprised to see who was standing next to Sue. She turned around and our eyes locked. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Rosalie Hale didn't hold a candle to this woman. She smiled a soft, genuine smile and I knew in that moment that this was going to be the one person who would help me forget all about how Bella Swan had broken my heart.

**_A/N- Now can I offer any of you a strong glass of rum or some of the delicious Mocasto? Can you see why I needed to drink while I wrote this? I have it on standby for all of you. Well, there you have it. Jacob's POV. Yeah, I know I left you with a cliffie, but you'll find out who the mystery girl is in the upcoming chapters. I will be submitting chapter 16 probably tomorrow. Thank you all so much for all of the reviews and for the new readers who are keeping me on alert and adding me to their favorites. Oh oh oh!!! I have a twitter. Yeah I know right? So if you want to follow me, let me know. A big hug to all of you who already are. I'm kind of new to the whole thing, but I'm learning. _****_http://twitter(dot)com/_****_Hollister_1980_**

**_Holly_**

Checking for availability of this username ...


	3. Young Love an Alice & Jasper POV

A/N- Here is your look into Alice & Jasper. I wrote it yesterday which is amazing for me. Thank you **katydid2363 **for turning it back around so quickly. More thanks and explanations will be at the end.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing Twilight related but hopefully in about a month or so, I'll be the proud owner of my very own plane ticket to Vegas.

Young Love

By: Carters Chord

_Young love, strong love, true love  
It's a new love  
They're gonna make it through the hard times  
Walk those lines  
Yeah, these ties will bind  
Young love_

_Young Love, The Judds_

The day before the wedding

Alice POV

I was sitting cross legged on the floor filing down my nails with an emery board.

I giggled when I thought of what I was doing. Of course, I was on the floor, not the hood of a Ford but whatever. It was all in the same. The meaning of how I felt; how my friends felt was the same at least.

We were all in love and young, bound and determined to be with our better halves. Rosalie was determined to drive me crazy with her wedding dress. Jasper had to constantly remind me that this was her wedding and not mine. Deep inside I knew he was right and if I was being honest, I kind of liked the idea of designing something so eighties and turning it into something so now. I briefly wondered how Rose felt about Lady Gaga. I could for sure turn that dress into something she would wear at one of her concerts or the Grammy's. Maybe I should contact her people when all the hoopla was over with.

Bella and Edward were still in New York but were scheduled to come home Monday. I was beyond excited to see them. I knew, without a doubt, that Bella would return with a big fat rock on her left hand. Why did I feel this might be the case? Call it sister's intuition, call it psychic ability, call it about damn time! Whatever it was I knew my brother well enough to know that he wouldn't pass up the opportunity to get on bended knee when they had made plans to visit the Holy Grail of jewelry stores. Even I knew that Bella, Miss I don't like surprises they are so cliché, wouldn't be able to leave Tiffany's without at least trying on one of their coveted rings. Of course, I wouldn't dare voice this opinion to anyone other than myself. It wasn't as if I thought I would be wrong, everyone in this family knows better than to bet against me, but I just felt like it wasn't my place to fill everyone's head with the possibility of another wedding. I would leave that honor to the lucky couple.

The thing was I had my own secret that I wasn't willing to share with the family. Aside from my parents, no one else was aware of what Jasper and I had planned for the following day. I knew that I would catch hell from the others when it did come to light but it was a small price I was willing to pay for eternity with my one true love.

I knew everyone expected me to throw the most lavish wedding this side of the Northern Penusula but when it came down to it, I didn't care if I got married in the backyard, at a church, or on an island, I just wanted to be married. And to only one man at that.

When Jasper had told me of the meeting with his suppliers that had suddenly arisen for tomorrow afternoon, we both communicated our desires without words. I mean it was Vegas after all. He didn't have to get on one knee, he didn't have to ask me to be his, I already was. Instead, he kissed the tip of my nose and began packing a suitcase. I immediately called my parents to inform them of our plans. The hesitation in my mother's voice didn't go unnoticed. I understood what she meant but at the same time she only wanted me to be happy. There was no other place than with Jasper Hale that made me the happiest.

So here I sat, with that damn song stuck in my head, as I finished up my self imposed manicure. My dress hung on the back of the door securely zipped up in the garment bag. Although we may have been going about the wedding very unconventionally, I still had some things I wanted to keep sacred. The dress would remain a secret until tomorrow.

We had snuck out of the house almost undetected last night. Rosalie and Emmett were like two rabid dogs in heat as soon as the sun went down. I felt bad for not cluing them in on what was going to be the biggest day of my life. I knew Rosalie would never let down her fight over the dress if she knew what her brother and I were about to do. And let's face it, as much as I detested the idea of her wedding dress I also enjoyed getting a rise out of her.

Bella was going to be a harder person to explain all of this to. If there was ever a person to stand next to me on my big day she was it. I tried not to dwell too much on the reactions of my family but rather focus on the fact that tomorrow I would be Alice Cullen Hale. Finally.

Jasper and I had waited entirely too long for this day to come. Eleven years worth of sporadic phone calls, web cam intimate moments and even fewer one on one meetings had led us to our abrupt decision. I would just have to face the wrath after it was all said and done.

It was going to be worth it.

I heard the water shut off from the shower and I knew it was only a matter of minutes before Jasper emerged into our suite. Considering we were only staying for the one night we decided to splurge on our room. Our honeymoon suite a day before the actual honeymoon. Like I said, we were going about this unconventionally.

He stepped out into the living room area in nothing but a crisp white towel draped around his waist. It hung loosely over his hips while the water he had neglected to dry off himself rolled down his lean, hard stomach. I licked my lips at the sight before my eyes. This man, this beautiful kind hearted man had been mine since we were five years old. How I ever got to be so lucky was beyond me. He was my everything. I would do anything for this man.

"Al, you okay baby? Are you starting to have reservations about not having the whole family here?" he asked taking a seat on the couch that I was perched against. I leaned my body back so that his legs were wrapped on either side of me. I sighed as he began to gently knead my shoulders.

"No and yes. I mean, no because I want this more than anything in the world and yes because I know that they are going to miss the most important day of our lives."

"Well, we could still call them if you want. I'm sure we could postpone our nuptials until everyone arrived."

I turned around to face him, my hands on his knees. I began to rub my palms up and down the length of his thighs. Shaking my head I answered him. "That would be the unselfish thing to do but I can't help but feel selfish at this very moment. I know it's wrong of me, really I do, but I just want to be married to you. At this moment I don't care about anything else. Just you and I. Maybe later down the road I'll regret this but not right now. Right now I want to focus on the fact that in less than fifteen hours you will be legally binded to me for the rest of your life."

Jasper smiled and I'll admit it made my stomach flutter every time he did. "I feel the same way. But are you prepared for the hell that is without a doubt going to head our way when everyone finds out? Not just the girls or your brothers Al, you've also got your future in-laws to consider."

A part of me cringed at the mere mention of Jasper's parents. I never understood why all parents couldn't be as amazing as my own. Jasper's were in fact far from the amazing, down to earth parents I had. His dad wasn't all that bad but his mother. Good Lord his mother was a force to be reckoned with. I was thankful that Jasper wasn't an only child and that in her eyes Rosalie was the golden child. The woman lived off Rose's fame worse than Joe Jackson did his kids.

But then it hit me and I smiled. Jasper cocked his head to the side and gave me a questioning look. I shook my head and kissed him on the cheek before extending out my hand. He followed me into the bedroom and the whole while I thought, I may be doing my family an injustice by not allowing them to be present for our wedding but what made it all worth it was the fact that I wouldn't have to listen to mother Hale go on and on about how I should do things her way.

There is nothing I enjoy more than pissing off my future monster in law.

The day of the wedding

Jasper's POV

I spent the majority of the morning away from Alice. I knew better than to hover while she busied herself with getting ready. Carlisle and Esme were scheduled to arrive at ten and the wedding was to take place around one. We had decided on that time so that Alice could have somewhat of a customary one on one before the big march down the aisle with her mother.

I knew it killed her not to have the rest of the family present. Hell, it killed me too. But at the end of the day, whether we were surrounded by friends and family or not, she was still going to be my wife. That was something I looked forward to more than anything else.

In all actuality, I knew that this day would come. Did I think it would take us eleven years to get to the alter? No, but sometimes you have to take the hand you're dealt. Had it not been for the unforeseen circumstances that brought us all back together, Alice and I would have still managed to find our way back to one another. That I knew to be a fact.

Alice was in the bathroom soaking in the tub when I called out that I was headed downstairs to meet her parents. I wasn't entirely sure what Carlisle and I were going to do while they primped but I was almost sure it would involve the nearest bar. I wasn't planning to drink to ease my nerves. There was nothing to be nervous about. It was just a way to pass the time. It sure beat the hell out of gambling.

I entered the solitude of the elevator and pressed the button for the lobby. As it descended upon each floor my hand made its way into the pocket of my designer dress pants (designed by none other than my future bride). Inside was the ring I was going to give to Alice. Because I never flat out asked her to marry me, I never gave her an engagement ring either. But in my pocket, between my fingers, was the ring that would forever rest upon her finger.

Alice had no idea just how long I had had this ring but in just a few short hours she would. It was big and sparkly and just what I'm sure every girl dreams of. But more importantly when I first laid eyes upon it I knew that it was meant for my Alice. I didn't go to the jeweler of the stars like that Jacob guy that Emmett used. I mean, sure I had seen his works who hasn't seen all the bling P-Diddy flashes or that platinum grill Lil Wayne sports. Nor did I go where I'm sure Edward had visited.

I wasn't a complete fool when it came to the matters of his heart. Alice may think she's the only one who has a sixth sense about things but I catch on to things pretty well myself. Tiffany's was high on their to do list while in New York and I knew Edward well enough to know that he was going to come home with a ring. Now whether or not said ring would be sitting pretty on Bella's hand was another question in itself. But never the less, he was coming home with one.

It wasn't that Tiffany's wasn't good enough for Alice. Lord knows the woman owns enough little blue boxes to build a shrine but I wanted something unique. Something as one of a kind as my girl.

The elevator slowed and the doors opened. I had to look up at the numbers to make sure I had made it to the lobby. The lighted numbers revealed that it had stopped on the tenth floor. Waiting to step inside were a group of women and I smiled politely as they each entered the confines of the space. What caught my attention was that they all seemed to be wearing the same shirt. I tried not to make it seem like I was checking out their chests. I was on my way to the alter after all, but for some reason I just had to know what the shirts said. One of the ladies cleared her throat and I looked up to find eleven sets of eyes on me. All of their faces smirking.

I coughed and bit back a smile. I was almost certain at that moment I was a Bella shade of red. The lady who cleared her throat spoke while all of her friends looked on.

"Was there something we could help you with?" She asked in a voice clearly made for radio.

"No," I said and shook my head. Her friend behind her snorted. I decided I might as well fess up. It sure as hell beat getting caught staring at their chests again. "I mean, I'm sorry I was just trying to figure out what your shirts said."

They all looked down like they had forgotten what they were wearing. A laugh escaped from my mouth and the eleven sets of eyes shot back up to me. I realized then what the shirts said.

"So, you girls are with the band huh? And which band would that be?" I asked thinking that if maybe it was someone worth listening to, Alice might want to stick around.

The girls laughed like it was some kind of inside joke. "The Lost Boys." A girl with an unidentified accent added between the laughter.

"Okay," I said more to myself. "Are they new?"

The laughter continued and I was positive that I was in fact missing or they were drunk. I figured I'd make small talk the rest of the way down. It couldn't hurt right?

"I guess then that 'The Lost Boys' is what brings you girls to Vegas?"

"You betcha!" Another one fired back. She sounded faintly like Jackie from That Seventies Show. I noticed that her shirt was slightly different than the others. On the left side, where a pocket would be, it read,_ Big Chief WCIP_. I considered asking her what it meant but after the round of laughter about the band I decided against it.

"What about you?" Another one asked only this one was Australian.

"Oh, I'm getting married today," I beamed proudly. Each girl oh'ed and ah'ed and sent a mix of congratulations around in a mix of different accents. Who ever this band was had one hell of a following I thought.

"Jasper," I said holding up my hand and giving the ladies a small wave. "My name is Jasper and you ladies are?"

"Not Anna!" they said in unison before doubling over in a fit of laughter.

I decided that I was going to give them the benefit of the doubt by not deciding that they were crazy. Loud, giggly, and maybe drunk? Yes but this was Vegas so anything was to be expected. Before I could engage them in any more laughter because let's face it, the conversation was one sided on my part, the elevator chimed and we finally had made it to the lobby.

Two of the girls, apparently Vegas natives, were discussing who had the best buffet in town as they led the group out of the elevator. I listened intently because after I had made an honest woman out of Alice I wanted to hit up an all you can eat spread.

Being the gentleman I was, I held the elevator doors open so they could each make their way out. One by one, or rather, arm in arm, they each exited still laughing with one another. I shook my head and smiled at the bonds they had. Just as I was about to follow the last one out of the door, she stopped and turned to face me.

"I'm sorry about that. We're a very excited group," she explained in a Scarlet O'Hara southern drawl. I contemplated if she sounded like that all of the time or if it was the effects of alcohol. I nodded and smiled, totally understanding what she meant. "Jasper, good luck with your marriage, there is no doubt she's one lucky lady."

"Thank you and y'all have fun and don't get into too much trouble."

"Please!" she protested. "What's Vegas without a little trouble? By the way, you can call us The Muselets." And with that she ran after her friends while I stood at the elevator gaping because I had only met one other group of friends that had given themselves a name.

Esme and Carlisle were sitting at the bar when I strolled up. Both of them engulfed me in a hug as I approached. Esme excused herself to be with Alice while I took up residence next to Carlisle. We made small talk about the houses, Rose and Emmett's upcoming wedding, the fact that my parents were not present, and what pre-wedding talk with the bride's father would be complete without "the talk".

Carlisle's mood was light up until the point where he deemed it necessary to remind me that Alice was his only daughter, his baby girl, and even though we had been together since kindergarten he had no problems whooping my ass if I ever did anything to hurt her.

I would not have expected anything less from the man.

An hour later, Carlisle and I stood at the doors of the elevators waiting for Esme and Alice to arrive. I tapped my foot, not out of nerves but out of sheer excitement. I couldn't wait to lay my eyes on Alice. I knew that she was going to be stunning. When was she ever not?

Every time the doors opened my heart raced. I was literally on edge to see her. Carlisle sensed my mood and came to stand behind me, clamping his hands on my shoulders.

"Breathe son. Just breathe."

I did as he asked and closed my eyes inhaling the air around me. What happened next will forever be embedded in my mind. It was as if it all happened in slow motion.

I opened my eyes just as the elevator doors opened. Esme stepped out first and moved off to the side to let Alice shine. When she was in my full line of vision, the sight before me took my breath away. She was in a knee length, white fitted creation that was made for her, by her. Her hair was pulled back elegantly in a knit veil that did not hang past her shoulders. A triple strand of pearls hung tightly across her neck.

She was a vision, a beauty. She was all mine.

I smiled and my heart leapt out of my chest as she began to walk towards me. Thank God my legs moved on their on volition because my head was swimming with the thoughts of her beauty.

She returned my smile as I closed the distance between us. Our hands locked together as we stood in the middle of the hotel lobby in front of the elevators like two teenage kids.

"Hi," she shyly said.

"Hi," I returned. "You look amazing, baby."

She bowed her head and squeezed my hands that were still holding hers. "Thank you. You look pretty amazing yourself."

I pulled her closer to my chest and breathed in her scent. I leaned my head so that my nose barely grazed the side of her face. "Are you ready for forever?"

"I've been ready since the first day of kindergarten," she answered back.

We arrived at the Chapel of Flowers with ten minutes to spare. The four of us walked into the small location and were in awe that this was still Vegas. It was quaint and for a brief second you actually forgot that you were on the strip. Instead, inside the place where I was about to tell my one and only, it felt as if we could have been anywhere.

An older lady behind the counter greeted us and began to explain the different packages. We opted for the intimate package which didn't consist of much, a maximum of five guests inside the chapel. The lady was kind enough to throw in four free passes to the buffet of our choice. I joked about having an Elvis impersonator marry us and even teased Alice about donning a set of Princess Leia muffs for the ceremony. The later comment earned a threatening look from both Alice and Esme.

At one o'clock on the dot, I stood at the front of the chapel with the minister. Esme sat alone in the first row of pews, her attention focused on the back of the chapel. The traditional wedding march began to play and the doors slowly opened. There with her arm wrapped together with her fathers was the woman of my dreams. They both smiled as Carlisle walked his only daughter down the aisle.

As soon as they reached where I stood, Carlisle slipped his arm out of Alice's. He kissed her on the cheek and hugged her tightly. Before taking his seat next to Esme, he extended his hand out to me and shook it, never breaking eye contact. Just when I thought his grip couldn't get any more firm he winked and pulled me towards him.

"Don't forget to breathe Jazz. We can't have the groom passing out on us."

I nodded because I was unable to find words. As soon as he was out of the way, I glided next to Alice and took her hand, placing it securely in mine. We looked into each other's eyes as the minister began the short ceremony.

I never broke our stare because the way I saw it, there was no one else in the room with us. I had to be taken out of my trance long enough to acknowledge the minister when he asked for the rings.

I slid the diamond out of my pocket and looked back up at Alice. The expression on her face was one of excitement and love. She placed her dainty hand in mine and as I began to slide the ring down her finger I heard her gasp. I smiled because I knew the moment I saw this ring she would approve.

I repeated the traditional vows to her and she mirrored the actions when it was her turn.

Ten minutes later, the vows had been said and the ceremony was one step away from being over. As soon as the minister pronounced us husband and wife, Alice's eyes lit up and neither of us waited for him say, 'you may now kiss the bride'. I'm pretty sure he never got the words out of his mouth.

I kissed her like it was our first time all over again. She molded her lips against mine and I couldn't have asked for a more perfect first kiss as husband and wife. When we finally detached our lips I held her body close to mine and pressed my forehead to hers.

"I love you so much," I said.

"I love you so much more."

I wasn't going to argue with her. We would have been there all day. I knew that neither of us loved the other more. But I'd give her the satisfaction because I was pretty sure she was saying that because of the giant ring she now sported.

Esme and Carlisle clapped and cheered as we made our way hand in hand down the aisle. They were close behind as we entered the private lobby of the chapel. Everyone shared hugs and kisses before the appointed photographer came over to snap a few pictures of our day.

After all the pictures had been taken the four of us stood outside the chapel deciding on where the best buffet would be to use our free passes. It occurred to me that just hours before this had been discussed in the elevator.

"Hey, I heard earlier that the Rio has the best buffet in town. Why don't we head that way?" I suggested.

Everyone seemed to be in agreement as a car came around to transport us to the hotel.

"Who suggested the Rio baby?" Alice asked while I held the door of the cab open for her.

"The Muselets," I stated matter of factly.

"Oh," she replied. "Well, they sound like a pretty awesome group."

I laughed and got in behind her. "They seemed like it."

I wish I would have had a way to get in touch with the loud, crazy self proclaimed "Muselets" when dinner was over with. It was by far the best food I had eaten in a long time. The menu ranged from omelets to pizza and sushi to fresh carved meats, not to mention the amazing dessert bar. I was in heaven. Buffet Heaven.

I noticed Alice staring at her ring all through dinner. She was mesmerized by the sparkles. It was as if she had a shiny new toy.

"Do you like it?" I asked knowing good and damn well she did.

"Like it? Jazz baby really? I love it!" she exclaimed.

"Good. I've had it for a while," I admitted.

She looked at me in disbelief. "You have? How long is a while?"

I remembered the day I bought the ring like it was yesterday. "Oh, for about seven years."

Her eyes got wide and her mouth hung open slightly. "Seven years? Are you serious? Why have you been keeping it so long?"

"Because I knew the moment I saw it that it was meant for you. I bought it with my first big paycheck."

"Oh Jazzy. I didn't think it was possible to love you anymore than I already do," she cooed and gently kissed me.

"I know baby. Believe me, I know."

When we had our fill of the endless possibilities of food, the car took us back to our hotel where we gathered our bags so we could fly back to Forks. The flight seemed to go by much quicker than it did on the way down.

I wondered as we pulled into the driveway if Rosalie and Emmett would be around to give us the third degree on where we had been. I had them in Seattle all day picking out fixtures for their house and if I knew my sister, she was probably passed out from shopping all day.

Esme and Alice walked into the house together while Carlisle and I stayed behind to collect all of the luggage. With bags in tow we began to walk up to the house in near silence. It wasn't until we reached the door that Carlisle spoke.

"Well Jasper, this is where we part. Thank you for including Esme and I in your big day. We're not judgmental on how you two went about things, all we care about is being there for our children." He took in a deep breath and began to turn the knob of the door. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going upstairs to sleep with my wife."

I couldn't help but smile but I knew better than to mouth off by saying me too. But that was exactly what I was about to do. For the first time, I was going to make love to Alice not only as my soul mate, my better half, my one and only true love but as my wife.

A/N- First off, I have to say I'm sorry for some of the ramblings you read. The whole "Muselet" encounter in the elevator is dedicated to my fellow Muselets: **Nattydread, hwimsey, LizF22, Hibbleton, HEAR, angstaddict09, lovemartyr, Nikkijoy, Anna_Faze, Mopstyle, martydog.** I hope you girls have fun recognizing the ones that actually spoke to Jasper. And in explaining to the rest of you as to why I wrote them in there... well, we ourselves have our own little trip to Vegas planned in April (or at least, I HOPE, I'll be able to go) and with Alice & Jasper tying the knot in Sin City it was too good too pass up. So, yeah I had to write my girls in there. And again, I'm sorry if it made absolutely no sense to you.

**Angstaddict09** thank you for the help with Vegas. The wedding chapel and the buffet. Links can be found at the bottom for the chapel. It looks so not Vegas! And last but not least **fngrcuts**, I hope I did Carlisle justice with Mr. Green's line from Clue. That was all for you babe!

Next regular chapter should be up sometime this week. Oh and this will be the last outtake from the original story I'll write. I considered an Emmett outtake for later down the road but I've decided I've got other plans where he is involved.

Here is the link for the Chapel of Flowers in Vegas. www (dot) littlechapel (dot) com

Leave some love & I'll leave some right back! Until next time...

Holly


End file.
